3  AND  4 

A    HISTOEIOAL    AND    CEITIOAL    DIS- 
CUSSION OF  COLLEGE  ADMISSION 
KEQUIKEMENTS 


A   HISTOEICAL    AID    CRITICAL 

DISCUSSION  OF  COLLEGE 
ADMISSION    REQUIREMENTS 


BY 

EDWIN   C.  BROOME 


SUBMITTED  IN  PARTIAL  FULFILLMENT  OF  THE  REQUIREMENTS 

FOR   THE   DEGREE   OF  DOCTOR  OF  PHILOSOPHY  IN  THE 

FACULTY  OF  PHILOSOPHY,  COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY 


R  X  A  /? 
UN 


NEW   YORK 
1902 


PREFACE. 

IT  is  difficult  to  conceive  of  an  educational  problem  of  any 
depth  or  significance  which  does  not  have  a  history.  There  is 
scarcely  an  idea  in  the  so-called  "  new  education  "  which  has 
not  found  expression  in  the  practice  or  theory  of  the  past.  In 
order,  then,  to  comprehend  the  possibilities  as  well  as  the  limita- 
tions of  any  latter-day  problem  it  is  necessary  to  know  of  the 
attempts,  successes,  and  failures  of  the  past.  In  fact,  from  such 
attempts,  failures,  and  successes  present  educational  condi- 
tions have  resulted.  Hence  the  importance  of  the  study  of  the 
history  of  education  in  general  and  of  the  historical  setting  of 
any  important  problem. 

The  problem  of  college  admission  requirements,  at  first 
thought,  does  not  suggest  any  considerable  history.  In  the 
beginning,  therefore,  it  was  the  writer's  plan  to  concentrate  his 
attention  upon  present  aspects  of  the  problem,  and  to  touch 
briefly  only  upon  the  historical  development  as  an  introduc- 
tion to  the  thesis.  It  was  found,  however,  that  the  only  first- 
hand historical  material  accessible  was  in  the  various  college  ' 
catalogues ;  and  no  catalogues  were  issued  prior  to  1800.  For 
the  first  hundred  and  fifty  years  of  higher  education  in  the 
United  States,  therefore,  there  was  no  published  record  of  l 
college  admission  requirements,  and  even  competent  historical 
authorities  had  no  certain  knowledge  of  the  conditions  of  ad- 
mission or  the  changes  therein  previous  to  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury. In  order  to  collect  reliable  material  it  was  necessary  to 
visit  the  libraries  of  the  different  colleges  and  examine  the 
statutes  enacted  from  the  establishment  of  each  college  to  about 
1820  or  later.  Frequently  the  statutes  were  in  Latin  and  needed 
translation,  and,  in  almost  every  case,  were  in  manuscript.  In 
view  of  these  facts  it  has  seemed  advisable  to  trace  the  develop- 
ment of  college  admission  requirements  with  considerable  detail 


6  PREFACE  [176 

from  the  foundation  of  Harvard  College  to  date ;  because,  first, 
the  work  may  be  a  slight  contribution  as  a  bit  of  historical 
research  in  the  field  of  American  educational  history;  and, 
secondly,  it  may  assist  to  a  more  intelligent  discussion  of 
present-day  aspects  of  the  subject. 

The  plan  of  the  dissertation  is  as  follows  :  ( I )  The  historical 
discussion,  with  some  interpretation  and  comparison  along  the 
line;  (2)  a  discussion  of  present  phases  of  the  problem.  In 
part  (I)  six  colleges  have  been  considered.  These  are  Har- 
vard, Yale,  Princeton,  Columbia,  the  University  of  Michigan, 
and  Cornell.  Other  colleges  are  incidentally  referred  to.  In 
the  selection  of  these  institutions  priority  of  establishment  as 
well  as  present  influence  has  been  regarded.  In  part  (II)  the 
writer  has  approached  the  subject  for  the  most  part  from  the 
point  of  view  of  the  secondary  school,  and  he  has  kept  in  mind 
the  needs  of  the  public  high  school  in  particular. 

The  chief  sources  are :  for  the  historical  part,  the  statutes, 
catalogues,  and  histories  of  the  colleges  considered ;  for  the 
second  part,  the  proceedings,  reports,  and  published  addresses 
of  the  associations  which  have  been  most  active  in  the  discus- 
sion of  the  problem  of  college  admission  requirements. 

The  writer  is  indebted  to  Dr.  James  E.  Russell,  Dean  of 
Teachers  College,  for  the  suggestion  of  the  subject  and  its 
scope;  to  Mr.  William  G.  Brown,  of  Harvard  University;  Mr. 
F.  B.  Dexter,  of  Yale  University;  Mr.  V.  Lansing  Collins,  of 
Princeton  University,  and  to  John  B.  Pine,  of  New  York,  for 
assisting  the  writer  to  secure  valuable  material ;  and  to  Presi- 
dent Nicholas  Murray  Butler,  of  Columbia  University,  to 
President  Charles  W.  Eliot,  of  Harvard  University,  to  Pro- 
fessors Munroe  and  Dutton,  of  Teachers  College,  and  to  Pro- 
fessor Elmer  E.  Brown,  of  the  University  of  California,  for 
helpful  suggestions. 

RAHWAY,  N.  J.,  April,  1903. 


CONTENTS 


INTRODUCTION .9 

The  founding  of  Harvard  College — Relation  to  English  Uni- 
versities (Cambridge  and  particularly  Emanuel  College)  — 
Two  factors  which  determined  the  unique  character  of  the 
colonial  college. 

PART  I 

THE  HISTORICAL  DEVELOPMENT  OF  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIRE- 
MENTS       17 

CHAPTER  I 

CONCERNING    ADMISSION    REQUIREMENTS    DURING    THE    COLONIAL 

PERIOD 17 

Admission  requirements  at  Harvard  in  1642 — Slight  change 
in  1655 — No  further  change  during  the  century — Admission 
requirements  as  related  to  the  curriculum — The  curriculum 
cited — The  question  of  the  use  of  Latin — Good  articulation — 
Note  on  the  College  of  William  and  Mary — Conditions  at  the 
opening  of  the  eighteenth  century — Religious  controversies — 
Yale  College  founded — Relation  to  Harvard — Entrance  re- 
quirements at  Yale  in  1720  and  1726 — Compared  with  Harvard 
requirements — Slight  change  at  Harvard — Requirements  at 
Yale  in  1745  (arithmetic) — Requirements  at  Princeton  in  1748 
— Remarks  on  the  entrance  terms — Requirements  for  admis- 
sion to  King's  College  in  1755 — Comparison  with  other  colo- 
nial colleges — Requirements  for  admission  to  Columbia  in 
1785 — Signs  of  progress — Laxity  in  enforcement  of  regula- 
tions— Comparative  table  for  the  close  of  the  eighteenth 
century — Uniformity  noted. 

CHAPTER   II 

CONCERNING    COLLEGE    ADMISSION    REQUIREMENTS    DURING    THE 

NINETEENTH  CENTURY 40 

Religious,  social,  and  political  changes — A  new  demand — 
The  academies — Rapid  addition  of  new  subjects:  Geography, 
grammar,  algebra — A  parallel  course  at  Columbia  (French) 
—The  University  of  Michigan;  admission  requirements — 
Geometry,  ancient  history,  United  States  history,  physical 
geography — Continual  increase  in  the  amount  of  the  original 
subjects,  as  well  as  addition  of  new  subjects — The  year  of 
1870  a  point  of  transition — Comparative  table  for  1870 — 
Table  for  1870  compared  with  that  for  1800 — New  subjects 
since  1870:  Modern  languages,  English  composition  and 
literature,  scientific  studies — Table  of  subjects  introduced 
during  the  nineteenth  centurV — Tendencies  since  1870  in  ad- 
mission terms:  addition  of  new  subjects,  changes  in  original 
subjects,  flexibility,  change  in  the  character  of  the  entrance 
examination,  and  influence  on  secondary- school  methods. 


8  CONTENTS 

PART  II 

COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  AS  A  PROBLEM  IN  EDUCATIONAL 

ADMINISTRATION 71 

INTRODUCTION 71 

Conditions  which  caused  the  problem — Development  of  new 
demands — The  growth  of  the  public  high  school  a  factor — 
Two  aims — Conservatism  of  colleges — The  problem :  to  secure  > 
closer   articulation    between    the    college    and    the    secondary 
school.  • 

CHAPTER    III 

FLEXIBILITY  IN  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS 74 

Parallel  courses — Table  showing  when  they  developed — 
Distinctions  between  courses — Comparative  table  showing  re- 
quirements for  Ph.  B  course — B.  L.  and  B.  S.  courses — Lack 
of  definition  in  courses,  as  well  as  endless  diversity  in 
entrance  conditions — Table  showing  how  the  four  principal 
courses  stood  as  regards  admission  requirements — Criticism 
of  parallel  courses — Flexibility  in  requirements  for  admission 
to  the  A.  B.  course — Development  of  flexibility  at  Harvard — 
Three  systems :  absolute  prescription,  group  system,  system 
of  free  election — Table  showing  list  of  subjects  and  extent 
of  option  at  Harvard,  Columbia,  Michigan,  and  Leland  Stan- 
ford—Discussion of  flexibility  in  admission  requirements; 
what  it  involves — Merits  of  different  plans  discussed — A  sug- 
gestive scheme — Remarks  on  it. 

CHAPTER    IV 

THE  "  ACCREDITING  SYSTEM  " 116 

Another  means  of  securing  articulation — Development  of 
the  system,  Michigan,  Indiana,  Wisconsin,  California — 
Diploma  system  distinguished  from  the  certificate  system — 
Advantages  and  disadvantages  of  the  diploma  system — A 
good  system  where  there  is  a  state  system  of  schools  under 
thorough  supervision,  and  where  adequate  safeguards  are 
possible. 

CHAPTER   V 

UNIFORMITY  IN  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS        ...     126 

Lack  of  uniformity  in  1870 — Causes  and  evils — Co-operative 
attempts  to  secure  uniformity  by  various  organizations — Con- 
ference of  New  England  Colleges — The  New  England  Asso- 
ciation of  Colleges  and  Preparatory  Schools;  its  work — The 
Committee  on  Secondary  School  Studies  of  the  N.  E.  A. — 
National  importance — The  Committee  on  College-Entrance 
Requirements  of  the  N.  E.  A. — The  fourteen  recommenda- 
tions— Several  discussed — National  units  or  "  norms  " — Value 
of  the  report  of  the  committee — College- Entrance  Examination 
Board  of  the  Middle  States  and  Maryland— Aim  and  consti- 
tution— Discussion  of  the  plan — Five  advantages  to  be  secured 
— A  series  of  attempts  to  secure  uniformity. 
Where  the  problem  stands. 

CONCLUSION 147 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 153 


LIST  OF  TABLES 


I.  The  curriculum  of  Harvard  College  about  the  middle  of 

the  seventeenth  century 14 

II.  Comparative  table  of  college  admission  subjects  in  1800      .      41 

III.  Comparative  table  of  college  admission  subjects  in  1870      .      64 

IV.  Table  showing  the  chronological  order  of  the  introduction 

of  college-entrance  subjects 78 

V.  Table  showing  the  average  amount  of  Latin  and  Greek  re- 
quired for  admission  to  college  in  1870  and  in  1900      .      84 
VI.  Table  showing  when  parallel  courses  developed  in  leading 

colleges 96 

VII.  Comparative   table   of   requirements   for   admission  to   the 

Ph.  B.  course 98 

VIII.  Table  showing  relation  of  the  four  general  courses  at  Cor- 
nell University  in  1889  as  regards  admission  terms      .     102 
IX.  Table  showing  the  relation  of  the  four  general  courses  in 

475  colleges  as  regards  admission  terms        .        .        .     104 
X.  Table  showing  the  relative  advantages  of  the  four  methods 

of  admission  to  Harvard  College  from  1888  to  1898    .     122 
XI.  List    and    rating   of   subjects    for   admission   to    Harvard, 
Columbia,    Michigan,    and   Leland    Stanford   Univer- 
sities     134 

XII.  Table  showing  relative  degrees  of  flexibility        .        .        .     135 
XIII.  Suggested  plan  of  admission  requirements    ....    146 


INTRODUCTION. 

IN  order  to  discuss  intelligently  any  problem  relative  to  the  , 
American  college  it  is  necessary  to  devote  some  attention  to 
the  unique  character  of  that  institution,  and  to  the  traditions 
which  determined  it.  These  conditions  are  most  clearly 
exemplified  in  the  development  of  Harvard  University.  In  the  \ 
first  place,(Harvard  was  the  first  college  established  on  this 
side  of  the  Atlantic,  and  thus  became  the  connecting  link  in 
the  transit  of  learning  from  the  Old  World  to  the  New.  Sec- 
ondly, Harvard  was  the  only  college  in  the  country  for  over 
half  a  century,  and  was  consequently  the  most  closely  identified 
with  the  early  development  of  colonial  life.  Thirdly,  Harvard 
may  rightly  be  called  the  mother  of  American  colleges,  so 
potent  has  been  her  influence  in  determining  the  character  of 
subsequent  colleges  and  the  direction  of  collegiate  study  in  this 
_country.^  In  short,  the  history  of  Harvard  College  in  itself 
comprises  a  complete  account  of  the  development  of  American 
university  problems. 

I  The  first  official  action  towards  the  establishment  of  Harvard 
College  is  to  be  found  in  the  form  of  a  decree  of  the  General 
Court  of  Massachusetts  for  October  28,  1636*  It  reads  as 
follows :  "  The  Court  agrees  to  give  400  Pounds  to  bee  paid 
the  next  yeare,  and  200  Pounds  when  the  worke  is  finished,  & 
the  next  Court  to  appoint  wheare  &  wt  building."  In  addition 
to  this  sum,  loyal  Puritans  contributed  numerous  useful  articles, 
ranging  all  the  way  from  a  sugar  spoon  to  a  few  sheep.  The 
most  important  donation,  and  the  one  which  doubtless  decided 
the  continuation  of  the  enterprise,  was  the  gift  of  John  Har- 
vard, who  "  bequeathed  the  Sum  of  Seven  Hundred,  seventy- 

i.  Records  of  the  Governor  and  Company  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay 
in  New  England;  printed  by  order  of  the  Legislature;  edited  by 
Nathaniel  B.  Shurtleff,  M.  D.,  Boston,  1853;  Vol.  I.,  183.  Same  decree 
is  cited  by  Quincy,  History  of  Harvard  University,  Vol.  I.,  8. 


12  INTRODUCTION  [178 

nine  Pounds,  seventeen  Shillings  and  two  Pence,  towards  the 
Pious  Work  of  building  a  College/'2  And  it  was  in  recogni- 
tion of  this  act  of  munificence  that  the  General  Court  ordered, 
on  March  13,  1639:  "  That  the  Colledge  agreed  upon  formerly 
tqbee  built  at  Cambridge  shall  bee  called  Harvard  Colledge. " 
Thus  far  the  college  was  a  very  rudimentary  affair,  strug- 
gling along  against  financial  embarrassment,  on  the  one  hand, 
and  inefficient  management  on  the  other.  The  school  was 
under  the  direction  of  Nathaniel  Eaton,  whom  Cotton  Mather 
calls  "  fitter  to  be  master  of  a  Bridewell  than  a  Colledge/'4  His 
administration  was  terminated  on  August  27,  1640,  by  the  ap- 
pointment of  the  Rev.  Henry  Dunster  to  the  title  and  powers 
of  President.  With  this  date  begins  the  unbroken  history  of 
Harvard  College  and,  at  the  same  time,  the  history  of  higher 
education  in  the  United  States. 

Harvard  College,  as  we  naturally  would  expect,  in  respect 
to  studies,  methods,  and  academic  customs,  was  an  English 
college  transplanted  to  colonial  soil.  u  The  course  of  studies 
embraced  the  contemporaneous  learning  of  the  colleges  of  Eng- 
land/'5 The  charter  of  1692  empowered  the  corporation  of  the 
college  to  confer  degrees  "  pro  more  Academiarum  in  Anglia." 
In  this  way  Harvard  was  the  connecting  link  in  the  educational 
chain  between  Europe  and  America.  The  relation  of  Harvard 
to  the  English  universities  was  closer  than  in  the  case  of  col- 
leges subsequently  founded;  for  many  of  the  latter,  organized 
and  managed  as  they  were  by  Harvard  graduates,  were  estab- 
lished, with  some  modifications,  on  the  Harvard  plan.  The 
influence  of  Cambridge  University  was  the  strongest  factor  in 
determining  the  character  of  Harvard  College.  The  majority 
of  the  learned  men  among  the  colonists  were  sons  of  that  uni- 
versity.6 Presidents  Dunster  and  Chauncey  had  both  received 

2.  Magnalia  Christi  Americana,  Book  IV.,  126. 

3.  Records  of  the  Governor  and  Company  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay 
in  New  England,  I.,  253. 

4.  Magnalia  Christi  Americana,  IV.,  126. 

5.  Peirce,  History  of  Harvard  University,  7. 

6  (a).  Mr.  Savage,  in  a  note  on  the  changing  of  the  name  of  New- 
towne  to  Cambridge,  says1:  "  There  were  probably,  at  that  time  (1638), 


179]  INTRODUCTION  I$ 

degrees  from  Cambridge;  many  of  the  early  supporters  of 
Harvard  College  were  graduates  of  the  same  university,  and, 
as  a  lasting  testimonial  of  their  loyalty,  they  changed  the  name 
of  the  seat  of  the  colonial  college  from  Newtowne  to  Cam- 
bridge.7 John  Harvard,  whose  timely  legacy  saved  the  colonial 
college  from  financial  ruin,  was  himself  a  graduate  of  Emanuel 
College,  Cambridge.  An  additional  reason  why  Harvard 
should  have  been  intimately  identified  with  Cambridge  is  that 
the  Puritan  sect,  of  which  the  founders  of  the  Massachusetts 
Bay  Colony  were  a  branch,  was  always  more  influential  at  Cam- 
bridge University  than  at  Oxford,  and  they  would  consequently 
be  expected  to  have  derived  their  educational  ideas  from  their 
Alma  Mater.  Emanuel  College  was  especially  the  Puritan  col- 
lege of  Cambridge  University.  A  curious  old  song,  called  the 
"  Mad  Puritan,"  illustrates  to  what  extent  the  Puritan  sect  was 
identified  with  Emanuel  College: 

"  In  the  house  of  Pure  Emanuel 

I  had  my  education, 
Where  my  friends  surmise, 
I  dazzled  my  eyes 

With  the  light  of  revelation : 
Boldly  I  preach, 
Hate  a  cross,  hate  a  surplice, 

Mitres,  copes,  and  rochets : 
Come  hear  me  pray 
Nine  times  a  day, 

And  fill  your  head  with  crochets."  8 

forty  or  fifty  sons  of  the  University  of  Cambridge  in  Old  England,  one 
for  every  two  hundred  or  two  hundred  and  fifty  inhabitants  dwelling  in 
the  few  villages  of  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut." 

6  (&).  "Of  the  first  six  hundred  who  landed  in  Massachusetts,  one  in 
thirty,  it  is  said,  was  a  graduate  of  the  English  Cambridge." — Boone, 
History  of  Education  in  the  United  Sates,  8.  This  statement  is  prob- 
ably an  overestimate. 

7.  "  For  place  they  fix  their  eye  upon  New-Towne,  which  to  tell  their 
posterity   whence  they  came,   is   now   named   Cambridge." — Johnson's 
Bonder-Working  Providence,  1654;  quoted  by  Peirce,  app.  vi. 

8.  Dyer,  History  of  Cambridge,  II.,  345. 


i4  INTRODUCTION 

The  significant  fact  in  the  relationship  between  Harvard  and 
Cambridge  is  that  Harvard  College  was  patterned  after  one 
division  of  Cambridge  University.  It  was  the  college  idea,  and 
not  the  university  idea,  that  prevailed. 

Another  factor  which  helped  determine  the  character  of  the 
American  college  was  that  Harvard  was  founded  at  a  time 
when  educational  as  well  as  political  institutions  found  their 
sanction  in  religio'n.  The  motive  which  determined  the  estab- 
lishment of  Harvard  College  is  in  strict  keeping  with  the  re- 
Jigious  austerity  of  its  founders^  A  letter  written  at  the  time 
says :  "  After  God  had  carried  us  safe  to  New  England,  and 
we  had  builded  our  houses,  provided  necessaries  for  our  liveli- 
hood, rear'd  convenient  places  for  Gods  worship,  and  settled 
the  Civill  Government :  One  of  the  next  things  we  longed  for, 
and  looked  after,  was  to  advance  Learning  and  perpetuate  it  to 
Posterity,  dreading  to  leave  an  illiterate  ministry  to  the 
churches,  when  our  present  ministers  shall  lie  in  the  Dust."9  It 
was  a  religious  motive  purely  that  decided  the  establishment  of 
Harvard  College.  Consequently,  "  during  the  first  period  " 
(1638-1692),  says  Quincy,  "the  College  was  conducted  as  a 
theological  institution,  in  strict  coincidence  with  the  nature  of 
the  political  constitution  of  the  colony,  having  religion  for 
its  basis  and  chief  object."10  To  show  how  closely  it  was  in- 
tended that  education  should  further  the  ends  of  religion  we 
need  only  cite  a  passage  of  the  statutes  which  determined  the 
conduct  of  Harvard  College  for  a  century  and  a  half :  "  Con- 
siderato  unusquisque  ultimum  finem  vitae  ac  studiorum,  cogni- 
tionem  nimirum  Dei  et  Jesu  Christi,  quae  est  vita  aeterna;"11 
John  xvii.,  3,  or  translated,  "  Every  one  shall  regard  the  main 
end  of  life  and  studies  to  be  acknowledge  of  God  and  of  Jesus 
Christ,  which  is  eternal  life."  (Not  merely  religion,  but  the  nar- 
rowest orthodoxy  and  the  most  stifling  and  bigoted  sectarian- 

9.  New  England's  First  Fruits,  p.   I.     Published  with  "  Old  South 
Leaflets  "  as  number  51.     It  is  a  letter  written  from  the  colony,  and 
published  in  London  in  1643. 

10.  Quincy,  History  of  Harvard  University,  I.,  3. 

11.  Statuta  Collegii  Harvardini,  1462,  2. 


i8i]  INTRODUCTION  I5 

ism,  controlled  the  educational  policy  of  the  day.  The  same  in- 
tolerance that  banished  Roger  Williams  into  the  wilderness, 
the  same  fanaticism  that  burned  witches  at  the  stake,  was  the 
spirit  breathed  into  the  higher  education  of  the  colony.  It  is 
true  chat  no  religious  test  was  ever  inserted  into  the  charter  of  v 
Harvard  College,  nor  was  it  necessary,  when  no  one  could  be  a 
freeman  of  the  state  who  was  not  a  member  of  the  church — 
and  of  that  church  dominant  at  the  time.12 

This  narrow  religious  bias  had  both  its  evil  and  its  beneficent 
effects  on  education;  and  for  that  reason  we  have  emphasized 
it.  On  the  one  hand,  sectarianism,  with  the  religious  con- 
troversies that  later  resulted  from  it,  was  the  most  influential 
factor  in  narrowing  the  aim,  in  restricting  the  curriculum,  and 
in  hindering  the  financial  progress  of  the  colonial  college.  On 
the  other  hand,  however,  it  is  altogether  likely  that  college  edu- 
cation would  have  been  postponed  a  century  but  for  the 
religious  fervor  of  the  colonists. 

In  this  introduction  two  facts  have  been  emphasized  which  , 
have  an  intimate  relation  to  the  peculiar  history  of  higher  edu- 
cation in  the  United  States.  The  first  is,  that  Harvard  College 
was  modeled  after  but  one_subdivision  of  an  English  univer- 
sity, Emanuel  College,  whose  customs  and  traditions  were  fol- 
lowed as  closely  as  conditions  would  permit.  The  second  is,, 
that  religious  zeal  was  the  controlling  spirit  of  Harvard  College 
during  the  early  period  of  its  history.  These  two  facts  go  far 
to  explain  the  unique  character  of  the  American  college.)  They 
account  for  much  of  the  conservatism  and  slow  progress  which 
we  shall  note  as  this  discussion  proceeds. 

12.  Records  of  Massachusetts,  I.,  87.  Until  1692  only  church  mem- 
bers were  freemen  and  could  vote. 


A    HISTORICAL    AND    CRITICAL  DISCUSSION    OF 
COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS 


PART  I 
HISTORICAL  DISCUSSION 


CHAPTER  I 

CONCERNING   COLLEGE   ADMISSION    REQUIREMENTS   DURING   THE 
COLONIAL     PERIOD      (1640-1800) 

THE  history  of  college  admission  requirements  during  the 
seventeenth  century  is  simply  the  story  of  the  changes  which 
took  place  in  the  entrance  conditions  at  Harvard  College.  No 
other  college  was  established  before  1700.  It  is  true  that  the 
college  of  William  and  Mary  dates  its  origin  to  the  year  1693, 
but  it  did  not  develop  beyond  the  stage  of  a  preparatory  school 
until  the  next  century. 

It  has  been  stated  that  the  real  history  of  Harvard  College 
began  in  1638.  Just  what  requirements  for  entrance  were  made 
on  the  score  of  young  men  who  composed  the  student  body 
from  that  time  until  the  first  commencement,  in  1642,  we  have 
no  way  of  determining.  There  were  no  regulations  for  the 
government  of  the  college  until  1642.  Then,  under  the  direc- 
tion of  President  Dunster,  a  complete  code  of  laws  was.  drawn 
up.  These  statutes  are  preserved  in  College  Book  No.  I.,  and 
below  appear  the  regulations  concerning  the  admission  to 
college. 


Statuta,  Leges,  Privilegia,  et  Ordinationes,  per  Inspectores 
:t  Praesidem  Collegii  Harvardini  constitute  An.  Chr.  1642, 
1643,  J644,  1645,  1646,  et  promulgate  ad  scholiarum  salutem 
et  disciplinam  perpetuo  conservandam. 

"  i.  Cuicunque  fuerit  peritia  legendi  Ciceronem  aut  quemvis 


i8  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [184 

alium  ejusmodi  classicum  authorem  extempore,  et  congrue 
loquendi  ac  scribendi  facultas  oratione  tam  soluta  quam  ligata, 
suo,  ut  aiunt,  Marte,  et  ad  unguem  inflectendi  Grsecorum  nomi- 
num  verborum-que  paradigmata ;  hie  admissionem  in  Collegium 
jure  potest  expectare.  Quicunque  vero  destitutus  fuerit  hac 
peritia,  admissionem  sibi  neutiquam  vindicet." 

The  laws  above  quoted  are  in  manuscript,  and  in  apparently 
the  same  handwriting  there  is  a  translation  adjoined  which 
reads  as  follows  (omitting  the  heading)  :  "  When  any  Schol- 
lar  is  able  to  read  Tully  or  such  like  classical  Latin  Author  ex 

:  tempore,  and  make  and  speake  true  Latin  in  verse  and  prose, 
suo  (ut  aiunt)  Marte,1  and  decline  perfectly  the  paradigms  of 
nounes  and  verbes  in  ye  Greeke  tongue,  then  may  hee  bee  ad- 
mitted into  ye  College,  nor  shall  any  claime  admission  before 
such  qualifications." 

Regulations  as  to  the  religious  and  moral  conduct  of  the 
students  and  academic  forms  similar  to  what  obtained  in  Eng- 
lish universities  follow.  Such  were  the  requirements  for  ad- 
mission to  Harvard  College  in  1642,  and  the  official  records, 

I  so  far  as  they  are  preserved,  indicate  no  material  change  during 
the  century.  The  so-called  "  Dudley  Code  "  of  1686  (in  Col- 
lege Book  II.)  prescribes  the  same  entrance  terms  in  precisely 
the  same  language.  Mather's  "  Magnalia,"  published  in  Lon- 
don in  1702,  quotes  the  laws  of  Harvard  College,  and  the  section 
on  admission  reads  the  same.2  There  are  some  indications, 
however,  that  the  practice  did  not  conform  to  the  law.  It  was 
the  custom  at  Harvard,  and,  in  fact,  in  other  colleges  during  the 
early  colonial  period,  for  the  student  at  entrance  to  transcribe  a 
copy  of  the  college  rules  and  regulations  for  his  personal  guid- 
ance. One  of  these  transcriptions  occasionally  comes  to  light. 
Such  a  document  was  presented  to  the  Massachusetts  Historical 
Society  in  1799  by  John  Pinchon,  of  Salem,  Mass.3  It  bears 

1.  Suo,  vestro,  or  nostro   Marte,  was  a   Latin  proverb   meaning  by 
one's  own  exertions,  i.  e.,  without  any  assistance  whatever.     It  seldom 
appears  translated. 

2.  Mather's  Magnalia  Christi  Americana,  Book  IV.,  pp.  132-134. 

3.  Proceedings  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  XIV.,  207. 


185]  DURING   THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD  19 

the  date  1655,  and  the  following  are  the  terms  of  admission: 
"  When  any  Schpller  is  able  to  read  and  understand  Tully,  Vir- 
gill  or  any  such  ordinary  classical  authors,  and  can  readily 
make,  speake,  or  write  true  latine  in  prose,  and  hath  skill  in 
makeing  verse,  and  is  completely  grounded  in  the  greek  lan- 
guage, so  as  to  be  able  to  construe  and  Dramatically  to  resolve 
ordinary  greek,  as  the  greek  testiment,  Isocrates,  and  the 
Minor  Poets  or  such  like,  haveing  withall  meet  testimony  of 
his  towardness,  he  shall  be  capable  of  his  admission  into  Col- 
ledge."  A  few  years  ago  Dr.  Green,  of  the  Massachusetts 
Historical  Society,  picked  up  in  a  second-hand  book-stall  in 
Boston  another  transcription  of  the  same  date  and  bearing  the 
signatures  of  Charles  Chauncey  and  Leonard  Hoar.  This  copy 
can  now  be  seen  in  the  archives  of  the  Harvard  Library.  It 
agrees  with  the  Pinchon  copy  almost  exactly.  These  transcrip- 
tions vary  slightly  from  the  official  Latin  code,  indicating,  as 
they  do,  that  "  ability  to  construe  and  grammatically  resolve 
ordinary  greeke  "  was  required  for  admission.  The  minutes  of 
the  Corporation  from  1642  to  1687,  included  in  College  Books 
I.  and  II.,  contain  no  record  of  such  a  change.  It  is  altogether 
likely,  however,  that  the  transcriptions  state  the  requirements 
actually  enforced,  while  the  official  statutes  stated  the  regula- 
tions as  they  appeared  on  paper.  It  is  probably  an  instance  of 
what  we  frequently  find  to  be  the  case — that  is  to  say,  change 
in  practice  often  antedates  by  several  years  the  revision  of  the 
statutes.  _ 

The  requirements  for  admission  to  Harvard  College  as  we 
have  stated  them  remained  without  change  during  the  seven- 
teenth century ;  in  fact,  it  was  nearly  the  middle  of  the  )  \J 
eighteenth  century  before  there  was  any  material  addition  to  the 
entrance  requirements  for  Harvard.  The  reason  is  easy  to  find. 
For  about  a  century  of  its  early  life  Harvard  College  had  a  bit- 
ter struggle  for  existence  against  poverty4  on  the  one  hand, 

4.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Corporation,  April  8,  1695.  voted  "  That  six 
leather  chairs  be  forthwith  provided  for  the  use  of  the  Library,  and  six 
before  the  commencement,  in  case  the  treasury  will  allow  of  it"— 
Thayer.  Historical  Sketch  of  Harvard  University,  7.  The  largest  gift 
of  the  century,  save  John  Harvard's,  was  £1000,  by  Matthew  Holworthy. 


20 


COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS 


[186 


and  against  sectarian  disruption  on  the  other.  Economic  and 
social  conditions  were  in  too  crude  a  state,  and  their  forces  were 
too  poorly  organized,  to  lend  any  encouragement  to  the  advance- 
ment of  higher  education.  In  fact,  the  curriculum  of  Harvard 
College  stood  throughout  the  century  with  scarcely  any  change. 
It  was  a  very  meager  affair  for  a  college,  with  hardly  as  much 
in  it  as  we  now  have  in  the  course  of  a  well  organized  secondary 
school.  Below  the  curriculum  is  introduced  to  show  both 
what  it  comprised  and  why  nothing  beyond  a  knowledge  of 
Latin  and  Greek  was  necessary  in  preparation  for  such  a  cur- 
riculum. The  earliest  account  of  a  course  of  study  at  Harvard 
College  is  found  in  "  New  England's  First  Fruits."  It  has 
been  arranged  below  in  systematic  schedule  form  for  more 
ready  reference. 

TABLE  I. 
THE  CURRICULUM   OF   HARVARD   COLLEGE  ABOUT   THE   MIDDLE  OP   THE 


Monday 

and 
Tuesday 

Wednesday 

Thursday 

Friday 


SEVENTEENTH   CENTURY. 

FRESHMEN.5 

8  A.  M.    Lectures  upon  Logic. 
8.45  Lectures  upon  Physics. 

2  P.  M.    Disputations. 

'8  A.  M.     Etymology  and  Syntax. 
2  P.   M.     Precepts  of  Grammar. 
Greek. 

8  A.  M.     Hebrew  Grammar. 
2  P.  M.    Practice  in  Bible. 

8  A.  M.    Rhetoric. 

9  A.  M.     Declamations. 

"  Vacat  rhetoricis  studiis." 


5  (a).  The  course  was  one  of  three  years  until  about  1655.  Sibley,  in 
'Harvard  Graduates,  Vol.  I.,  in  a  note  on  page  16,  cites  in  this  connection 
a  statement  of  Thomas  Prince,  who  states  that  several  scholars  who 
would  have  graduated  in  1653  left  college  because  the  Corporation 
made  a  law  that  the  "  Scholars  should  study  at  College  four  years  be- 
fore they  commenced  Batchelors  in  Arts." 

(fc).  An  index  compiled  by  President  Wadsworth  to  Book  II.  of  the 
Harvard  Records  includes  the  following  entry :  "  First  degrees,  an, 
1654,  denied  to  those  of  three  years'  standing,"  p.  5. 


i87] 


DURING   THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD 


21 


rday 


TABLE   I.— Continued. 

8  A.  M.     Divinity  Catechetical. 

9  A.  M.     Common  Places. 

i  P.   M.     History  in  Winter  and  the  Nature  of  Plants  in 
Summer. 


Monday 

and 
Tuesday 


Wednesday 


JUNIOR     SOPHISTERS. 

9  A.  M.     Lectures  on  Ethics  and  Politics. 
3  P.  M.     Disputations. 

9  A.  M.     Prosody  and  Dialectics. 
3  P.   M.     Practice  in  Poesy. 
Greek. 


9  A.  M.     Chaldee. 

Thursday        3  P.   M.     Ezra  and  Daniel. 
Hebrew. 


8  A.  M.     Rhetoric. 
Friday  9  A.  M.     Declamations. 

"  Vacat  rhetoricis  studiis." 

Saturday         Same  as  Freshmen. 

SENIOR    SOPHISTERS. 

Monday  10  A.  M.    Arithmetic  and  Geometry. 

and  10.45  Astronomy. 

Tuesday  4  P.   M.     Disputations. 

A.  M.  Perfected  "  theory." 

«r    •       j         P.   M.  Exercises  in  Style,  Composition. 

Imitation,  and  Epitome,  prose  and  verse. 
Greek. 

10  A.  M.     Syriac. 

Thursday  •       4  P.   M.    Tristius  (or  Trostius),  New  Testament- 
Hebrew. 

8  A.  M.     Rhetoric. 

Friday  9  A.  M.    Declamations. 

"  Vacat  rhetoricis  studiis." 

Saturday  Same  as  Freshmen. 


22  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [188 

This  course  of  study  was  evidently  determined  largely  by  the 
humanistic  influence.  The  major  share  of  the  program  is 
given  to  the  learned  languages  and  their  grammars,  to  rhetoric, 
and  theological  and  philosophical  disputations.  There  is  al- 
most nothing  in  the  curriculum  that  would  call  for  any  prepara- 
tion beyond  a  thorough  training  in  the  classics,  and  this,  as  we 
have  seen,  the  admission  requirements  provided  for  amply. 
When  the  college  course  included  no  mathematics  until  the 
senior  year,  and  then  only  the  elements  of  arithmetic  and  geom- 
etry; when  no  science  that  could  possibly  presuppose  a  knowl- 
edge of  mathematics  was  studied,  except  astronomy  in  the  last 
year  and  physics  for  two  fifteen-minute  periods  a  week  in  the 
first  year,  we  would  scarcely  expect  to  find  a  knowledge  of 
mathematics  or  science  required  for  admission,  especially  when 
the  chief  aim  of  the  preparatory  school  was  to  fit  boys  for  col- 
lege. In  those  days  the  problem  of  articulation  evidently  took 
care  of  itself.  There  was  perfect  adjustment  between  the 
preparatory  school  and  the  college. 

The  most  prominent  subject  among  the  requirements  for  ad- 
mission was  Latin ;  and  that  was  a  perfectly  natural  requisition 
at  that  time.  The  reason  is  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  in  all 
higher  institutions  of  learning,  both  in  England  and  on  the  Con- 
tinent, Latin  was  still  the  common  language  of  scholars,  a  pre- 
eminence traceable  back  to  the  rise  of  the  universities  in  the 
eleventh  century.  In  discussing  the  customs  of  English  univer- 
sities during-  the  seventeenth  century  Huber  says :  "  We  must 
not  forget  to  advert  to  one  ancient  rule — the  use  of  the  Latin 
tongue,  as  enjoined  by  statute  in  all  academic  transactions."6 
A  like  custom  was  prescribed  by  the  statutes  of  Harvard  as 
follows :  Scholars  shall,  under  no  consideration,  use  their 
mother  tongue  within  the  limits  of  the  college,  unless  sum- 
moned to  deliver  in  English  an  oration  or  some  other  public  ex- 
ercise.7 A  similar  rule  existed  at  Yale  College  until  the  Revo- 

6.  Huber.  V.  A.,  English  Universities,  II.,  198. 

7.  "  Scholares  vernacula  lingua  intra  Collegii  limites  nullo  praetextu 
utantur,    nisi    ad    orationem    aut    aliud    aliquod    exercitum    publicum 
Anglice  habendum  evocati  fuerint." — Statuta  Harvardini,  13,  1642,  1655, 
1685. 


189]  DURING   THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD  23 

lution,8  but  it  is  altogether  unlikely,  however,  that  the  rule  was 
uniformly  enforced  in  either  institution.9  The  fact  that  such  a 
:lause  did  exist,  however,  and  that  there  was  some  attempt  to 
iforce  it,10  explains  sufficiently  the  injunction  that  on  admis- 
sion the  candidate  should  be  able  to  "  make  and  speake  true 
Latin."  Latin  was  also  an  indispensable  instrument  for  success 
in  college  studies;  for  theses,  commencement  parts,11  disputa- 

8.  Statutes  of  Yale  College,  1726  to  1774:  "  No  scholar  shall  use  ye 
cnglishe  tongue  in  ye  Colledge  with  his  fellow  scholars  unless  he  be 
called  to  publick  exercise  proper  to  be  attended  in  ye  English  tongue 
but  schollars  in  their  Chambers  and  when  they  are  together  shall  talk 
lattin."     This  clause  was  stricken  out  in  the  code  of  1774.     There  was  a 
similar  rule  at  Brown  University. 

9.  In  the  Memoirs  of  the  Long  Island  Historical  Society  there  is  a 
record  of  a  visit  to  Harvard  College  on  July  9,  1680.    The  students  met 
there  could  hardly  "  speak  a  word  of  Latin."     Vol.  I.,  384. 

Also  Eggleston,  Edward,  The  Transit  of  Civilization,  p.  215 :  "  The 
attempt  to  compel  conversation  in  Latin  was  not  wholly  successful  in 
England,  and  it  always  failed  in  America,  even  in  Harvard  College." 
Here  he  quotes  Banker's  Journal,  385,  for  year  1689. 

10  (a).  Mr.  Leonard  Hoar,  in  a  letter  to  his  nephew,  Josiah  Flint,  a 
freshman  at  Harvard,  writes  (March  27,  1661)  :  "My  charge  of  your 
choice  of  company  I  need  not  inculcate ;  nor  I  hope  that  for  constant 
use  of  the  Latin  tongue  in  all  your  converse  together,  and  that  in  the 
purest  phrase  of  Terrence  and  Erasmus." — In  Sibley,  Harvard  Gradu- 
ates, I.,  231. 

(6).  Michael  Wigglesworth,  in  an  entry  in  his  diary,  December  27-28, 
1652  says :  "  Boldn  to  trangress  ye  colledge  law  in  speak  English." — Sib- 
ley,  I.,  267. 

(c).  As  late  as  1731  there  was  still  an  effort  made  to  compel  students 
to  use  Latin  orally  by  the  practice  of  announcing  in  Latin  every  Saturday 
at  prayers  the  absences  of  the  week  and  demanding  excuses  in  Latin. 
The  following  are  some  of  the  answers :  "  Detentus  ab  amicis ;  "  "  tin- 
tinabulum  non  audivi."  One  freshman,  charged  with  three  offenses,  re- 
plied :  "  Non  ter,  sed  semel  abfui :  carolus  f rater  locked  me  up  in  the 
buttery." — Thayer,  Historical  Sketch,  p.  45. 

11  (a).  Regarding  the  use  of  Latin  in  theses  and  commencement  parts, 
Thayer  says :    "  Until  1760  the  exercises,  consisting  of  theses  and  dis- 
putations on  various  logical,  grammatical,  ethical,  physical,  and  meta- 
physical topics,  were  conducted  in  Latin.    In  1763  the  first  English  ora- 
tion was  delivered." 

(6).  Judge  Wingate,  in  a  letter  dated  January  25,  1831,  and  addressed 


24  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [190 

tions,  and  some  class  room  lectures,12  as  well  as  many  of  the 
books  used  by  the  students,13  especially  in  philosophy  and  theol- 
ogy, were  written  in  Latin. 

The  aim  of  the  grammar  school  of  the  seventeenth  century 
was  to  prepare  for  college ;  the  aim  of  the  college  was  to  supply 
the  people  with  an  enlightened  clergy  ;14  the  course  of  study 
was  doubtless  regarded  a  most  efficient  one  for  the  purpose ;  a 
thorough  grounding  in  the  classics  was  an  adequate  preparation 
for  the  college  course  as  it  stood ;  in  short,  there  was  excellent 
adjustment  all  along  the  line.  The  admission  requirements 
as  stated  remained  without  material  change — on  paper,  at  any 
rate — until  1734,  and  no  new  subject  was  introduced  until  the 
middle  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

The  college  of  William  and  Mary  really  falls  within  this  period 
(1640-1700).  The  charter  was  granted  in  1693,  and  it  is  claimed  that 
the  college  was  in  existence  as  early  as  1660  (The  History  of  the  College 
of  William  and  Mary,  J.  Randolph  &  English,  Richmond,  1874,  p.  37). 
In  1705  the  college,  with  the  library  and  the  records,  was  burned,  and 
was  not  rebuilt  until  1723.  The  earliest  edition  of  the  laws  of  William 
and  Mary  now  extant  is  dated  1727.  The  only  regulation  for  admission 
was  that  a  boy  must  be  fifteen  years  of  age  and  have  finished  with  the 
Latin  and  Greek  of  the  grammar  school,  which  at  that  time  was  a  part 

to  Mr.  Peirce,  writes :  "  It  is  now  thirty-five  years  since  I  have  attended 
a  commencement.  .  .  I  do  not  recollect  now  any  part  of  the  public 
exercises  on  Commencement  day  to  be  in  English."  Later  he  says :  "  I 
well  remember  that  about  the  year  1757  or  1758  the  exercise  of  the 
Forensic  Disputation  in  English  was  introduced  and  required  of  the 
two  senior  classes,  and  I  think  likely  that  about  the  same  time  it 
became  a  part  of  Commencement  exercises."  This  tallies  quite  well 
with  the  observation  of  Thayer  cited  above. 

12.  In  the  library  of  Yale  University  there  is  a  manuscript  copy  of 
notes  on  lectures  taken  by  Rector  Pierson  while  a  student  at  Harvard. 
Many  of  the  lectures  are  in  Latin. 

13.  A  catalogue  of  the  Harvard  Library  for  1723  contains  a  list  of 
250  books,  and  65  per  cent,  of  these  bear  Latin  titles.     Catalogue  is 
printed  with  A  few  notes  concerning  the  records  of  Harvard  College, 
Andrew  McFarland  Davis. 

14.  "  The  number  of  students  graduated  at  the  college  from  its  foun- 
dation to  the  presidency  of  Leverett  (1707)  was  five  hundred  and  thirty- 
one,  one-half  of  whom  became  in  after  life  clergymen." — Quincy,  I.,  192, 


j9ij  DURING   THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD  25 

of  the  college.  The  requirements  for  admission  were,  eidently,  then, 
about  the  same  as  at  Harvard.  It  seems  that  there  were  never  any  / 
definite  entrance  requirements  at  William  and  Mary.  "  In  fact,"  says 
President  Lyon  G.  Tyler,  in  a  letter  to  the  writer,  "  entrance  examina- 
tions of  any  kind  were  not  much  considered  in  any  of  the  Southern 
colleges."  The  only  official  statement  I  have  been  able  to  find  concern- 
ing admission  to  William  and  Mary  is  in  the  statutes'  of  the  College  of 
William  and  Mary,  in  Virginia,  adopted  June  24,  1727.  These  statutes 
are  in  the  Congressional  Library  at  Washington,  and  were  copied  by 
Dr.  E.  E.  Brown.  The  statement  regarding  admission  runs  as  follows : 
"  Before  they  are  promoted  to  the  Philosophy  School  (the  college) 
they  .  .  .  must  first  undergo  an  examination  before  the  President  and 
Masters  .  .  .  whether  they  have  made  due  Progress  in  their  Latin  and 
Greek." 

During  the  eighteenth  century  increased  colonization,  sec- 
tional pride,  and  sectarian  differences  led  to  the  foundation  of 
twenty-one  colleges  within  the  thirteen  original  States.15  Of 
these,  however,  only  eight  were  established  before  the  Revolu- 
tion, and  the  history  of  these  is  that  of  a  continual  struggle 
with  poverty,  social  turmoil,  and  religious  contention.  Con- 
sequently progress  in  higher  education  was  seriously  hampered. 
The  most  bitter  religious  controversy  of  the  period  was  waged 
at  Harvard  College  about  the  opening  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury. 

It  has  been  stated  before  that  no  religious  test  ever  appeared 
in  the  charter  of  Harvard  College.  And  so  long  as  the  college 
was  under  the  undisputed  control  of  orthodox  Calvinists,  and 
so  long  as  church  membership  was  a  prerequisite  for  citizen- 
ship, dissenters  could  be  summarily  disposed  of.16  During  the 
latter  half  of  the  seventeenth  century,  however,  members  of  the 
Anglican  church  began  to  emigrate  from  England  to  the  col- 
ony in  considerable  numbers,  and  their  influence,  together  with 
that  of  a  rapidly  growing  faction  of  liberals  in  the  Puritan 

15.  From  1700  to  1800  there  were  twenty-one  colleges  founded  in  the 
United  States.     For  complete  list  see  Education  in  the  United  States, 
edited  by  Dr.  Butler,  p.  243. 

16.  President  Dunster  was  dismissed  from  office  in  October,  1654,  be- 
cause he  opposed  the  doctrine  of  infant  baptism.    See  Thayer,  Historical: 
Sketch,  p.  5. 


26  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [192 

church  itself,  was  beginning  effectually  to  leaven  the  long-con- 
gested lump  of  Calvinistic  bigotry;  and,  toward  the  close  of 
the  century,  neither  colony  nor  college  any  longer  wore  the  ex- 
clusive aspect  of  Puritanism. 

The  strict  Calvinists  were  sorely  tried  by  the  growing  ten- 
dency towards  liberalism  and  began  to  fear  for  the  fortunes  of 
the  college.  Finally  that  clause  of  the  royal  charter  of  1692 
which  made  property  instead  of  orthodoxy,  the  qualification 
for  the  franchise17  caused  the  Calvanist  leaders  to  realize  that, 
as  Quincy  remarks,  "  the  sceptre  they  had  so  long  possessed 
had  passed  from  their  hands."18  When  the  Calvinists  saw 
they  were  powerless  to  prevent  the  secularization  of  the  state, 
they  endeavored  to  save  the  college  from  drifting  towards  the 
devil. y1  Increase  Mather,  president  from  1685  to  1701,  who  was 
as  indefatigable  in  opposing  liberalism  as  he  was  in  burning 
witches,  was  especially  anxious  to  have  a  religious  test  inserted 
in  the  college  charter.  When  the  attempt  failed  a  bitter  con- 
troversy, which  had  long  been  smoldering  beneath  the  sur- 
face, broke  out  among  the  college  officials ;  the  result  was  the 
defeat  of  Mather  and  the  overthrow  of  the  influence  of  his 
belligerent  faction.  So  keenly  felt  was  the  disappointment 
among  the  dethroned  Calvinists  that  no  terms  of  opprobrium 
were  too  bitter  or  too  indelicate  for  their  enemies.  Rankling 
at  the  ignominy  of  defeat,  the  Mathers  hurled  scandalous  accu- 
sations against  their  successful  opponents.  Governor  Dudley 
was  charged  with  "  covetousness,  lying,  hypocrisy,  treachery, 
bribery,  Sabbath-breaking,  robbery,  and  murder."  19  John, — 
afterwards  President, — Leverett  and  the  Brattles  were  victims 
of  even  more  scurrilous  vituperation.20 

While  this  bitter  struggle  between  orthodoxy  and  liberalism 
at  Harvard  was  at  its  height  a  few  zealous  Calvinists,  fearing 

17.  See  Charter  granted  by  their  majesties  King  William  and  Queen 
Mary  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  Province  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  in 
New  England,  1692,  p.  7. 

18.  Quincy,  History  of  Harvard,  I.,  65. 

19.  Thayer,  Historical  Sketch  of  Harvard  University,  p.  7. 

20.  For  a  more  complete  discussion  of  this  controversy    see  Quincy, 
History  of  Harvard  University,  I.,  53  to  67. 


j93j  DURING   THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD  27 

the  advance  of  liberalism,  were  already  taking  steps  toward 
the  establishment  of  a  "  true  school  of  the  prophets  "  in  Con- 
necticut. They  found  further  reason  for  such  action,  doubtless, 
on  account  of  the  growing  population  in  the  fertile  Connecti- 
cut Valley,  the  establishment  of  Connecticut  as  an  independent 
colony,  the  consequent  distinct  sectional  interests,  as  well  as  the 
distance  from  Harvard  College.  On  March  23,  1647,  tne  town 
court  of  New  Haven  appointed  a  committee  "  to  consider  and 
reserve  what  lot  they  shall  see  meet  and  most  commodious  for  a 
college,  which  they  desire  may  be  set  up  as  soon  as  their  ability 
will  reach  thereunto."21  In  1690  the  question  of  founding^a 
college  in  Connecticut  was  agitated  again.  In  1701  a  charter 
was  finally  granted  for  the  establishment  of  Yale  College, 
where,  as  Thayer  puts  it,  "  the  brimstone  doctrines  of  Calvinism 
should  not  be  quenched  by  the  waters  of  liberalism/'22  Thus 
the  founding  of  Yale  College  was  closely  connected  with  the 
fortunes  of  Harvard. 

Considering  the  close  relationship  between  Harvard  and 
Yale,  it  would  necessarily  follow  that  the  courses  of  study  would 
be  similar.  There  are  several  instances  among  the  early  records 
of  Yale  College  that  indicate  that  the  course  of  study  pursued 
was  simply  an  adaptation  of  the  Harvard  curriculum.  It  is 
enjoined  in  the  laws  of  Yale  College  that  "  until  they  should 
provide  further,  the  Rectors  and  Tutors  should  make  use  of 
the  orders  and  institutions  of  Harvard  College."23  This  nat- 
urally followed  from  the  fact  that  all  the  first  board  of  trustees 
but  one,  and  all  the  earlier  rectors  and  tutors,  received  their 
education  at  Harvard.24 

It  was  found  that  during  the  seventeenth  century  the  require- 
ments for  admission  to  Harvard  remained  without  any  signifi- 

21.  Records  of 'Colony  and  Plantation,  p.  376;  cited  by  Clewes  in  Edu- 
cational Legislation  and  Administration  of  the  Colonial  Governments, 
p.  81. 

22.  Thayer,  Historical  Sketch  of  HarvardJJ[nvuersity,  p.  6. 

23.  Cited  by   President  Woolsey  in  An  Historical  Discourse.    The 
same  is  also  cited  by  Kingsley  in  A  Sketch  of  the  History  of  Yale 
College  in  Connecticut,  College  Collection  of  Pamphlets  No.  77. 

24.  Cited  by  Woolsey  in  Historical  Discourses. 


28  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS 

cant  change.  Ability  to  read  Tnlly  or  such  like  Latin  author  at 
sight,  to  write  and  speak  good  Latin,  and  to  decline  and  parse 
Greek  nouns  and  verbs  and  to  read  ordinary  Greek,  were  the 
substance  of  the  requirement.  All  the  early  records  of  Yale 
College  prior  to  1720  seem  to  be  lost.25  The  earliest  copies  in 
the  possession  of  the  university  are  dated  1720  and  1726,  and 
are  transcriptions  made  by  students  at  the  time.  The  section 
on  admission  in  the  laws  of  1720  is  as  follows : 

"  Orders  and  appointments  to  be  observed  in  ye  Collegiate 
School  in  Conneticott : 

"  Such  as  are  admitted  Students  into  ye  Collegiate  School 
shall  in  their  examination  in  order  thereunto  be  found  expert 
in  both  ye  latine  and  greek  grammars,  as  also  skilful  in  con- 
struing and  grammattically  resolving  both  latine  and  greek  au- 
thors and  in  making  good  and  true  latin." 

The  regulations  for  admission  in  1726,  transcribed  by  Jona- 
than Ashley,  then  a  freshman,  are  the  same  as  in  1720.  More- 
over, "  internal  evidence,"  says  Mr.  Dexter,  who  is  probably 
the  best  authority  on  Yale  historical  records,  "  shows  that  most 
of  the  provisions  date  back  to  a  much  earlier  period ;  the  use 
of  the  phrase,  '  Collegiate  School,'  is  especially  to  be  noted."2 
Considering  how  slowly  changes  were  made  during  the  first 
century  of  higher  education,  it  is  safe  to  conclude  that  the  regu- 
lations quoted  were  those  in  force  at  the  founding  of  the  col- 
lege. 

Compared  with  the  requirements  for  admission  to  Harvard 
last  quoted,  the  entrance  requirements  at  Yale  present  nothing- 
new  and  indicate  only  slight  differences.  In  both  colleges  Latin 

25.  Possibly  when  the  college  was  removed  from  Saybrook  to  New 
Haven,  in  1716,  the  records  became  scattered  or  lost.    The  earliest  known 
laws  of  the  college  belong  to  the  years  1720  and  1726,  and  are  in  manu- 
script.— Woolsey,  Historical  Discourse. 

During  the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth  century  "  the  laws  to  be  ob- 
served by  the  undergraduates  were  not  printed,  but  written  out  by  each 
student  at  the  time  of  his  admission  for  his  own  use."— -F.  B.  Dexter, 
Yale  Biographies  and  Annals,  I.,  347.  There  is  a  rumor  that  an  earlier 
copy  than  that  of  1720  exists. 

26.  Dexter,  Yale  Biographies  and  Annals,  I.,  347. 


i95]  DURING   THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD  2g 

and  Greek  were  the  only  subjects  required.  At  Harvard  ability 
to  speak  Latin  was  required  on  paper,  but,  as  we  have  concluded 
above,  that  requirement  was  probably  a  mere  form.  The  only 
other  difference  is  that  the  entrance  terms  at  Harvard  are  more 
clearly  specified.  For  instance,  the  candidate  must  be  able  to 
write  Latin  in  both  prose  and  verse;  and  the  authors  to  be  read 
are  indicated— Tully,  Virgil,  the  Greek  Testament,  Isocrates, 
and  the  minor  poets.  The  similarity  of  the  admission  require- 
ments doubtless  follows  from  the  similarity  between  the  two  in- 
stitutions in  both  the  aim  and  the  curriculum. 

In  1734  the  laws  of  Harvard  College  were  revised  and  a  few 
slight  changes  in  the  requirements  for  admission  resulted.  The 
following  were  the  new  entrance  terms : 

"  Whoever  upon  Examination  by  the  President  and  two  at 
least  of  the  Tutors  shall  be  found  able  to  read,  construe,  and 
parse  Tully,  Virgil,  or  such  like  common  classical  Latin  Au- 
thors :  and  to  write  true  Latin  in  prose,  and  to  be  skilled  in 
making  Latin  verse,  or  at  least  in  the  rules  of  Prosodia;  and 
to  read,  construe,  and  parse  ordinary  Greek,  as  in  the  New 
Testament,  Isocrates,  or  such  like,  and  decline  the  paradigms 
of  Greek  nouns,  and  verbs  .  .  .  shall  be  looked  upon  as 
qualified  for  admission  into  Harvard  College."27 

The  only  change  here  is  merely  a  verbal  one — ability  to 
41  speake  true  latine "  is  omitted.  Also  a  knowledge  of  the 
rules  of  prosodia  would  evidently  be  accepted  in  lieu  of  ability 
"  in  making  Latin  verse."  While  this  latter  change  seems  in- 
significant, it  may,  on  the  other  hand,  mark  a  tendency  toward 
memoriter  rather  than  constructive  work  in  the  preparatory 
teaching.  To  learn  the  rules  of  prosodia  would  certainly  re- 
quire less  original  power  in  the  use  of  Latin  than  to  compose 
verse.  In  1790  we  also  find  ability  to  translate  substituted  for 
ability  to  construe.  This  change,  together  with  the  one  men- 
tioned above,  distinctly  indicates  that,  at  Harvard  at  any  rate, 
the  importance  of  Latin  as  a  living  language  had  begun  to  de- 

27.  From  a  manuscript  copy  of  laws  by  President  Wadsworth. 


3o  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [196 

cline.28  For  the  remainder  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  re- 
quirements for  admission  to  Harvard  College  remained  un- 
changed.29 

The  most  significant  addition  to  college  admission  require- 
ments during  the  colonial  period  was  mathematics  to  the  extent 
of  elementary  arithmetic.  This  subject  appeared  for  the  first 
time  among  the  subjects  for  entrance  to  Yale  College  estab- 
lished by  the  revised  code  of  1745. 30  Following  are  the 
entrance  terms : 

"  CONCERNING  ADMISSION  INTO  COLLEGE/'' 

'  That  none  may  expect  to  be  admited  into  this  College  unless 
upon  Examination  of  the  President  and  Tutors,  They  shall  be 
found  able  Extempore  to  Read,  Construe  and  Parce'  Tully, 
Virgil  and  the  Greek  Testament ;  and  to  write  True  Latin  in 
Prose  and  to  understand  the  Rules  of  Prosodia,  and  common 
Arithmetic,  and  Shall  bring  Sufficient  Testimony  of  his  Blame- 
less and  inoffensive  Life."31 

For  the  remainder  of  the  century  no  mathematics  beyond  vul- 
g^r  arithmetic  was  required  for  admission  to  any  college;  nor 
did  Harvard  include  arithmetic  until  after  1800.  Beyond  this 
addition  of  arithmetic  there  was  no  material  "change  among  the 
requirements  for  entrance  to  Yale  College  until  the  next  cen- 
tury, except  that  among  the  regulations  for  1795  the  rules  of 
prosody  were  struck  out,  and  the  word  translate  was  substituted 
for  construe** 

As  we  have  suggested  above,  in  the  case  of  Harvard  College, 

28.  About  1723  Cotton  Mather  suggested,  among  other  "  points  needful 
to  be  inquired  into  relating  to  the  education  at  Harvard  College.     .     . 
Whether  the  speaking  of  Latin  has  not  been  so  discountenanced  as  to 
render  our  scholars  very  unfit  for  a  conversation  with  strangers." — 
Quincy.  I.,  558. 

29.  I  have  examined  the  statutes  of  1743,  1778,  1790,  and  1798. 

30.  Orders,  as  revised  by  a  previous  committee,  were  read  and  ap- 
proved at  the  first  meeting  of  the  President  and  trustees  (at  Commence- 
ment, 1745). — From  a  manuscript  in  the  college  archives. 

31.  Manuscript  in  English,  with  signature  of  Thomas  Clap. 

32.  I  have  examined  the  laws  of  1748,  1755,  1759,  1764,  1774,  1787,  1795, 
1800,  1808,  1811. 


i97j  DURING  THh  COLONIAL  PERIOD  3I 

these  same  changes  in  the  Latin  requirement  at  Yale  probably 
indicate  a  new  attitude  towards  the  subject. 

From  the  founding  of  Yale  College  to  that  of  the  next  colon- 
ial college  there  was  an  interim  of  over  forty__^ears.  Perhaps 
the  fire  of  Puritan  fervor  was  burning  low ,  or  maybe  those 
zealous  colonists  who  founded  Harvard,  Yale,  and  the  College 
of  William  and  Mary,  because  they  dreaded  to  "  leave  an  illit- 
erate ministry  to  \the  Churches,"  had  a  sufficient  supply  of 
spiritual  leaders.  Constant  warfare  with  the  Indians,  also, 
doubtless  had  its  influence.  In  1746,  however,  Princeton  Col- 
lege was  founded  on  a  strong  Presbyterian  basis.  Although 
differing  denominationally  from  the  earlier  colonial  colleges, 
Princeton  adopted  substantially  the  same  course  of  study. 
Consequently  we  find  only  a  slight  difference  in  the  require- 
ments for  admission.  The  earliest  statutes  of  the  college,  1648, 
prescribe  the  following  entrance  terms : 


"  None  may  Expect  to  be  admitted  into  the  College  but  such 
as  being  Examined  by  the  President  and  Tutors,  shall  be  found 
Able  to  Render  Virgil  and  Tully's  orations  into  English  and 
to  turn  English  into  true  and  grammatical  Latin :  and  be  so 
well  acquainted  with  the  Greek  as  to  render  any  part  of  the  four 
Evangelists  in  that  Language  into  Latin  or  English  and  to  give 
the  grammatical  Construction  of  the  words."33 

The  plan  of  studies  adopted  at  Princeton  was  doubtless  bor- 
rowed largely  from  Harvard  and  Yale.  The  fact  that  the  first 
three  Presidents  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey  were  graduates 
of  Yale  makes  it  more  likely  that  the  Yale  method  was  the  con- 
trolling influence.  The  admission  requirements  above  when 
compared  with  those  of  Yale  College  for  1745,  except  in  the 
absence  of  arithmetic,  will  be  found  to  correspond  with  them 
in  nearly  every  particular.  Since  arithmetic  appeared  as  an  en- 
trance requirement  at  Yale  for  the  first  time  in  1745,  it  is  prob- 
able that  the  new  subject  had  not  become  sufficiently  well  estab- 

33.  From  minutes  of  Trustees,  November  9,  1748. 


32  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [198 

lished  by  1748  to  have  a  place  among  the  requirements  for  ad- 
mission to  Princeton.  It  is  likely,  also,  that  President  Burr, 
himself  a  graduate  of  Yale,84  was  influenced  by  earlier  tradi- 
tions. The  more  plausible  explanation,  however,  is  that  for 
admission  to  college  in  the  colonial  days  a  good  knowledge  of 
the  classics  was  fundamental,  and  it  mattered  little  what  else 
the  candidate  knew.  Although  nearly  all  colleges  required 
arithmetic  to  some  extent  before  the  end  of  the  period,  yet  a 
knowledge  of  that  subject  was  often  presupposed,  and  the 
candidate  was  frequently  not  examined  in  arithmetic  at  all. 
Arithmetic  was  added  to  the  requirements  for  admission  to 
Princeton  for  the  first  time  in  1760  by  the  following  vote  of  the 
Trustees :  "  Voted :  that  after  the  present  year  all  who  are 
admitted  to  the  Freshman  class  shall  be  acquainted  with  Vulgar 
Arithmetic  shall  be  considered  as  a  necessary  Term 
of  their  admission."35  In  1794,  however,  arithmetic  did  not 
appear  among  the  entrance  terms.  Whether  the  subject  was 
dropped  sooner  or  not  there  is  no  way  of  ascertaining.  The 
records  for  that  period  are  exceedingly  meager.  With  Prince- 
ton in  the  maelstrom  of  the  struggle  for  independence,  there 
were  more  important  concerns  than  keeping  school  or  keeping 
records.  For  the  omission  of  arithmetic  from  the  list  of 
entrance  requirements  in  1794  two  explanations  may  be  sug- 
gested :  First,  the  relative  unimportance  of  the  subject  as  dis- 
cussed above,  and,  second,  the  omission  may  have  been  a 
clerical  error.  The  requirements  for  admission  in  1813  were 
precisely  the  same  (on  paper)  as  in  1794,  with  the  exception  of 
this  addition :  "  Arithmetic  to  the  rule  of  three  inclusive  is 
also  required."  The  only  other  changes  in  the  requirements 
for  admission  to  Princeton  during  the  eighteenth  century  were 
that  construing  Latin  and  Greek  was  discontinued  by  the  regu- 
'  lations  of  1764,  and  Sallust  and  Caesar's  Commentaries  were 
substituted  for  Tully's  Orations  in  1794. 

34.  He  graduated  from  Yale  College  in   1735.— Dexter,   Yale  Biog- 
raphies and  Annals,  I..  220. 

35.  Copied  from  the  Minutes  of  the  Trustees  of  Princeton  College  for 
1760,  by  Mr.  V.  Lansing  Collins,  Reference  Librarian. 


i99j  DURING   THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD  33 

Our  discussion  of  the  colonial  period  will  close  with  the  con- 
sideration of  one  more  college,  founded  on  different  denomina- 
tional and  educational  traditions  from  the  other  colleges  which 
we  have  discussed.  Columbia  College,  which  existed  for  a 
quarter  of  a  century  as  King's  College,  was  founded  in  I754.38 
The  first  code  of  the  "  Laws  and  Orders  of  the  College  of  New 
York/'  as  it  was  called,  was  adopted  June  3,  1755.  The  fol- 
lowing were  the  terms  for  admission : 

"  OF   ADMISSION." 

"  None  shall  be  admitted  (unless  by  a  particular  Act  of  the 
Governors)  but  such  as  can  read  the  first  three  of  Tully's 
Select  Orations  and  the  Three  first  Books  of  Virgil's  ^neid 
into  English,  and  the  Ten  first  Chapters  of  St.  John's  Gospel 
in  Greek,  into  Latin  and  such  as  are  well  versed  in  all  the  rules 
of  Clark's  introduction  so  as  to  make  true  Grammatical  Latin, 
and  are  expert  in  Arithmetic  so  far  as  the  Rule  of  Reduction 
to  be  examined  by  the  President  as  follows  :"37 

Here  we  find  the  same  admission  subjects  as  at  other  colleges 
— Latin,  Greek  and  Arithmetic.  The  requirements  for  ad- 
mission to  Columbia,  however,  differed  from  those  of  the  other 
colonial  colleges  in  one  important  feature.  Columbia  is  the 
only  college  where  we  have  found  the  amount  required  for 
entrance  definitely  stated  until  after  the  Revolution.  During 
the  war  the  activities  of  the  college  were  practically  suspended, 
no  degrees  were  conferred  from  1776  till  1786,  and  "  with  its 
president  gone,  its  instructors  scattered,  its  books  and  instru- 
ments stored  or  lost,  the  College  had  sunk  to  a  very  low  ebb."  " 
On  May  i,  1784,  the  Legislature  passed  "  An  act  for  granting 
certain  privileges  to  the  college  heretofore  called  King's  College 
for  altering  the  name  and  charter  thereof,  and  erecting  an 

36.  From  1754  to  1784. 

37.  The  Statutes  of  Columbia  College  for  the  early  period  are  in  the 
custody  of  Mr.  John  B.  Pine,  of  New  York. 

38.  History  of  Higher  Education  in  New  York,  U.  S.  Bureau  of  Edu- 
cation, Circ.  of  Inf.,  1900,  139. 


34  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [2oa 

university  within  this  State."  39  By  this  act  the  former  King's 
College,  which  had  become  by  this  time  practically  defunct, 
received  a  new  birth  under  the  name  of  Columbia  College ,  and 
the  course  of  study  was  broadened  and  strengthened.  The  in- 
fluence is  seen  in  the  immediate  advance  made  in  the  terms  of 
admission.  The  entrance  requirements  for  1785  were  as  fol- 
lows : 

"  No  candidate  shall  be  admitted  into  the  College,  after  the 
second  Tuesday  in  April,  1786,  unless  he  shall  be  able  to  render 
into  English  Caesar's  Commentaries  of  the  Gallic  War ;  the  four 
Orations  of  Cicero  against  Catiline;  the  four  first  books  of  Vir- 
gil's ^Eneid;  and  the  Gospels  from  the  Greek;  and  to  explain 
the  government  and  connection  of  the  words,  and  to  turn  Eng- 
lish into  grammatical  Latin,  and  shall  understand  the  four  first 
rules  of  Arithmetic,  with  the  rule  of  three."  *° 

For  the  rest  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  requirements  for 
/  admission  to  Columbia  College  remained  practically  unchanged. 

Throughout  the  period  we  have  been  considering,  or,  at  any 
rate,  until  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  progress  in 
higher  education  among  the  colonies  was  very  slow.  The  few 
colleges  founded  were  established  rather  to  maintain  a  safe 
supply  of  enlightened  ministers  than  to  extend  the  influence  of 
general  culture.  In  short,  the  colonial  college  had  a  narrow 
aim,  and  a  consequent  narrow  curriculum  that  admitted  few 
innovations.  The  education  of  the  colonial  college  also  was  for 
a  privileged  class  who  desired  humanistic  culture,  not  for  the 
common  toilers,  who  needed  useful  knowledge  for  the  practical 
affairs  of  life.  After  the  Revolution  social  life  assumed  a  new 
aspect.  The  narrow,  bigoted  autocracy  of  the  church  crumbled, 
and  with  the  dawn  of  independence  came  democracy,  which 
gave  a  firm  footing  for  educational  progress. 

39.  Laws  of  the  State   of  New  York,  seventh  session,  chap.   XLI., 
quoted  in  same  article. 

40.  From  a  printed  copy  of  the  Statutes  of  Columbia  College,  in  the 
custody  of  Mr.  Pine. 


2oi]  DURING   THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD  35 

In  the  development  of  admission  requirements  progress  was 
likewise  shown.  There  were  three  signs  of  progress  :  ( I )  A 
gradual  increase  in  the  Greek  requirement  incident  on  the 
diminished  use  of  Latin,  (2)  the  addition  of  arithmetic,  and 
(3)  a  tendency,  not  yet  common,  however,  for  the  entrance  re- 
quirements to  become  quantitative  and  specific. 

As  we  have  before  stated,  the  only  Greek  required  for  ad- 
mission to  Harvard  College  before  1700  was  the  elements  of 
grammar  and  the  translation  of  simple  prose.  During  the 
eighteenth  century  there  was  a  gradual  increase  in  the  amount 
of  Greek  required  for  admission  to  college ,  but  it  was  not  until 
the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century  that  the  Greek  requirement 
reached  its  maximum.  The  additional  requirement  in  Greek 
during  the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth  century  is  doubtless  ex- 
plained by  the  fact  that  less  attention  was  being  given  to  the 
use  of  Latin  as  the  scholastic  medium  of  expression,  and  more 
emphasis  was  consequently  thrown  upon  the  Greek. 

Arithmetic  as  an  entrance  subject  appeared  for  the  first  tim< 
at  Yale  in  1745,  and  soon  followed  among  the  other  college 
except    Harvard.     This    subject    completed    the    formidabl< 
triad — Latin,  Greek  and  Mathematics — which  has  evinced  so 
much  vitality  amidst  the  assaults  of  the  educational  reformers 
of  the  century  just  closed.     The  presence  of  arithmetic  among 
admission  requirements  is  the  earliest  instance  of  an  interesting 
tendency  in  the  history  of  the  curriculum  of  the  secondary 
school.     Nearly  all  of  our  present  day  admission  subjects  have 
gradually  backed  down  and  out  of  the  college  curriculum  into 
that  of  the  secondary  school.     History,  science  and  modern  ( 
languages   were    formerly    college    subjects    strictly.      In    the  ! 
seventeenth  century  the  only  preparation  required  in  Greek  was 
the  elements  of  grammar  and  simple  prose;  by  the  middle  of 
the  eighteenth  century  Isocrates  and  the  New  Testament  were  v 
among  the  admission  subjects,  and  a  century  later  Homer  and   • 
Xenophon  dropped  below  the  threshold.     In   1642  arithmetic 
and  astronomy  were  senior  studies  at  Harvard  College,  but 
nowadays  the  two  last  named  subjects  appear  on  nearly  every 
secondary    school    program,    while    arithmetic    has    dropped 


36  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [202 

much  lower.  By  this  process  nearly  all  the  subjects  in  the 
curriculum  of  the  colonial  college,  except  the  theological,  phil- 
osophical subjects,  and  the  Oriental  languages,  have  long  since 
been  introduced  to  an  equal  extent  in  the  secondary  school.  In 
fact,  the  curriculum  of  our  secondary  schools,  particularly  pre- 
paratory schools,  has  been  patterned  for  the  most  part  after 
that  of  the  college,  the  difference  being  one  of  degree,  not  of 
kind. 

The  tendency  during  the  latter  part  of  the  period  for  ad- 
mission requirements  to  become  specific  and  quantitative,  first 
noted  in  the  case  of  Columbia  College,  became  general  during 
the  first  decade  or  two  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Several 
factors  combined  to  bring  about  this  tendency.  First,  the  es- 
tablishment of  printing  houses  in  America  multiplied,  popu- 
larized and  cheapened  books,  so  that  it  became  possible  for  all 
who  were  preparing  for  college  to  have  access  to  the  same 
editions.41  Secondly,  the  growing  interest  in  education  and 
the  rapid  increase  of  students  after  the  Revolution  made  more 
rigid  specification  both  possible  and  necessary.42 

In  the  colonial  period  the  colleges  had  practically  two  sources 
of  supply.  Boys  were  prepared  either  by  private  tutors  or  by 
the  grammar  or  Latin  schools.  The  tutors  were  usually  the 
parish  ministers;  and  a  very  common  method  of  instruction 
was  to  walk  with  a  pupil  in  the  fields  and  converse  in  Latin 
about  whatever  objects  attracted  attention.43  The  Latin 
school  was  primarily  an  English  institution.  :t  The  tide  wave 
of  zeal  for  founding  new  Latin  schools  reached  its  flood  about 
the  time  that  emigration  to  America  began,  and  the  impulse 
was  felt  in  all  the  early  colonies."  44  One  such  school  was  often 

41.  Dr.  Chandler,  in  describing  life  at  Yale  in  1714,  says:     "There 
were  no  books  in  the  country  but  such  as  were  imported  with  the  first 
settlers. — Chandler,  Life  of  Samuel  Johnson,  D.  D.,  p.  8. 

42.  Between  1762  and  1776,  inclusive,  the  number  of  graduates  from 
Columbia  was  87.     On  account  of  the  war  no  degrees  were  conferred 
from  1776  till  1786.    From  1786  till  1800,  inclusive,  the  number  of  gradu- 
ates rose  to  211.    Other  colleges  show  a  similar  increase. 

43.  Bush,  G.  G.,  Harvard,  the  First  American  University,  p.  21 

44.  Eggleston,  E.,  The  Transit  of  Civilization,  211. 


203]  DURING   THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD  37 

connected  with  a  colonial  college ;  its  sole  aim  was  to  train  boys 
for  the  college ;  consequently  the  problem  of  closer  articulation 
between  the  preparatory  school  and  the  college  gave  educators 
little  concern  in  those  days.46 

"  When  Schollars  had  so  far  profited  at  the  grammar  schoole  " 
and  were  "  judged  ripe  "  they  presented  themselves  for  the  en-  ]/ 
trance  examination.  The  test  was  an  oral  one — in  fact,  we 
find  no  traces  of  written  examinations  before  the  middle  of  the 
nineteenth  century — and  was  conducted  by  the  president  or 
tutors.  The  regulations  for  entrance  were,  however,  very  laxly 
enforced.  Although  fourteen  years  was  the  lowest  age  of  ad- 
mission ever  permitted  by  the  statutes  of  Yale  College,  there 
are  several  cases  on  record  where  boys  as  young  as  twelve  or 
thirteen  were  entered.48  Often,  also,  the  candidate  was  not  ex- 
amined in  all  the  subjects  prescribed.  When  Mr.  J.  M.  Sturte- 
vant,  later  of  Illinois  College,  entered  Yale  in  1822,  he  was 
examined  in  Latin  and  Greek  only,  although  arithmetic  was 
required.  The  following  is  an  instance  which  occurred  at  Har- 
vard: In  May,  1780,  John  Dawson,  from  the  College  of 
William  and  Mary,  craved  admittance  to  Harvard,  but  he  was 

45.  Grammar  schools,  at  Harvard :  "  And  by  the  side  of  the  Colledge 
(is)  a  faire  Grammar  Schoole,  for  the  training  up  of  young  schollars, 
and  fitting  of  them  for  Academical  Learning,  that  still  as  they  are 
judged  ripe,  they  may  be  received  into  the  colledge  of  this  Schoole." — 
New  England's  First  Fruits,  p.  I. 

At  Princeton :  "  There  is  a  grammar- School  annexed  to  the  college, 
as  a  nursery  for  it,  under  the  general  inspection  of  the  president." — An 
Account  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  Published  by  order  of  the 
Trustees,  supposed  to  be  done  by  S.  Blair;  printed  by  James  Parker, 

1764. 

At  Columbia :  "  To  the  college  is  also  annexed  a  grammar  school." — 
In  a  paper  written  by  President  Cooper,  quoted  by  F.  R.  Hathaway  in 
History  of  Columbia  University,  U.  S.  Circ.  of  Inf.,  1900. 

46.  The  Rev.  John  Marsh,  class  of  1804,  in  a  letter  to  George  P. 
Fisher,  states  that  he  (Dr.  Marsh)  entered  Yale  at  twelve  years  of  age. 
(See  Life  of  Benjamin  Silliman,  by  Geo.  P.  Fisher,  1866.)  Mr.  Silliman 
entered  college  at  the  age  of  thirteen,  while  Charles  Chauncey,  a  friend 
of  Mr.  Silliman,  was  admitted  at  the  age  of  ten  years,  one  month,  but 
was  kept  out  by  his  father  until  a  year  later.  The  laws  of  the  period 
state  that  candidates  for  entrance  must  be  at  least  fourteen  years  old. 


38  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [204 

not  familiar  with  Greek,  as  the  latter  was  not  at  that  time  a 
required  subject  at  William  and  Mary.47  He  was  permitted  to 
-enter  the  Sophomore  class,  however,  and  was  "  exempted  from 
attending  on  the  Instructions  in  the  Greek  Department."  48 
There  was  evidently,  then,  a  general  laxity  of  enforcement  of 
the  stipulated  regulations  for  admission ,  and  the  examination 
was  apparently  a  flexible  and  informal  affair.49 

The  following  is  a  comparative  table  of  college  admission 
requirements  about  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century.  It  has 
not  been  possible  to  secure  reliable  data  from  many  institutions. 
The  statistics  included  in  the  table  represented  the  status  of 
admission  requirements  in  the  final  decade  of  the  eighteenth 
century.  The  regulations  are  from  the  last  issue  of  the  laws 
prior  to  the  year  1800 . 

From  the  table  it  appears  that  before  1800  there  were  only 
three  subjects  required  for  admission  to  college — Latin,  Greek, 
and  arithmetic.  The  requirements  in  Greek  and  in  arithmetic 
were  practically  uniform ;  the  same  thing  was  true  of  Latin, 
except  the  fact  that  there  was  some  diversity  among  the  authors 
required,  and  "  grammatical  analysis  of  words/'  or  the  "govern- 
ment and  connection  of  the  words,"  or  ability  "  to  parse  "  some- 
times appeared  instead  of  "  grammar."  Uniformity  was  the 
striking  characteristic  of  college  admission  requirements  during 
the  colonial  period.  First  of  all  there  was  a  uniform  aim; 
secondly,  there  was  a  uniform  course  of  study,  with  absolutely 
no  flexibility;  thirdly,  the  grammar  school  had  a  single  pur- 
pose— to  prepare  for  the  college — and  consequently  the  same 

47.  In  1779,  under  the  direction  of  Thomas  Jefferson,  the  chair  of 
"  Humanity,"  in  which  Greek  was  taught,  was  abolished,  and  was  not 
restored  until  1795.     See  correspondece  between  Lyon  G.  Tyler,  Presi- 
dent of  William  and   Mary,  and  William  G.   Brown,   of  Harvard,   in 
Nation,  July  27,  1893. 

48.  Correspondence  between  the  same  men. — Nation,  June  22,  1893. 

49.  A  committee  at  Harvard,  appointed  for  the  improvement  of  classi- 
cal study,  reported  in  1761  that  they  "  find  upon  enquiry  that  the  Students 
are  not  required  to  translate  English  into  Latin  nor  Latin  into  English, 
neither  in  verse  nor  prose."— Peirce,  History  of  Harvard  University,  238. 


DURING   THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD 


39 


conditions   existed   there.     Uniformity   in   admission   require- 
ments was,  therefore,  a  natural  consequence. 

(TABLE  II) 

COMPARATIVE  TABLE   OF  COLLEGE   ADMISSION 
SUBJECTS   FOR   1800 


/ 

LATIN 

GREEK 

MATHEMATICS 

Harvard 
1798 

Tully 
Virgil 
Grammar  and 
Prosody 
Composition 

New  Testament 
Grammar  and 
Prosody 

Yale 
1800 

Tully 
Virgil 
Composition 

Greek  Testament 

Rules  of  Vulgar 
Arithmetic 

Princeton 
1794 

Sallust 
Caesar 
Virgil 
Composition 
Gram.  Analysis 

Evangelists  in 
the  Greek  Tes- 
tament 
Grammatical 
Analysis 

Probably  Arithmetic 
(See  pp.  33  and  34) 

Columbia 
1786; 

Caesar 
Cicero'sOrations 
against  Cati- 
line 
^Eneid  (4  bks.) 
Composition 
Grammatical 
Construction 

Gospels  from  the 
Greek  Testa- 
ment 
Grammatical 
Construction 

Arithmetic,  including 
Rule  of  Three 

Brown 
J793 

Cicero 
Virgil's  ^Eneid 
Composition 

Greek  Testament 

Rules  of  Vulgar 
Arithmetic 

Williams50 
1795 

Tully's  Orations 
Virgil's  lEneid 
Composition 

GreekTestament 

Rules  of  Vulgar 
Arithmetic 

50.  The  term  "  grammar  "  appears  in  the  requirements  for  admission 
to  Williams  College.  The  term  may  signify  English  grammar,  but  it 
probably  meant  Latin  grammar ;  for  English  grammar  was  not  required 
by  any  other  college  until  a  quarter  of  a  century  later  (1819). 


40  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [206- 


CHAPTER  II 

CONCERNING   COLLEGE   ADMISSION    REQUIREMENTS   DURING   THE 
NINETEENTH     CENTURY 

IN  the  last  half  of  the  eighteenth  century  there  was  a 
momentous  change  in  the  religious,  social  and  political' condi- 
tions in  the  country.  In  religion  there  developed  a  strong 
tendency  towards  liberalism  and  a  consequent  severance  of  the 
Church  from  the  state;  and  with  the  development  of  political 
independence  came  democracy  and  a  pretty  general  fusing  of 
classes.  Naturally  new  educational  demands  arose.  There  was 
a  call  for  a  higher  education  in  subjects  of  practical  value — 
"  bread  and  butter  studies  " ;  the  so-called  "  Great  Awaken- 
ing," stimulated  by  the  zeal  of  Whitefield  and  Edwards  during 
the  first  half  of  the  eighteenth  century,  established  new  educa- 
tional as  well  as  religious  standards,  and  demanded  a  class  of 
ministers  trained  otherwise  than  in  the  subtleties  of  that  human- 
istic discipline  which  was  still  the  backbone  of  the  colonial 
college.  The  colleges,  however,  were  not  immediately  respon- 
sive to  the  new  demands.  They  were  too  far  removed  from  the 
common  people,  and  too  firmly  bound  in  the  fetters  of  tradition, 
to  swerve  from  their  long  cherished  aim  and  customs.  The 
colonial  college  admitted  scarcely  a  change,  so  far  as  its  cur- 
riculum was  concerned,  until  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury. In  fact,  it  is  still  with  us.  The  demand  for  popular  and 
useful  studies  was  met,  however,  by  the  rise  of  a  new  class  of 
institutions — the  acatjgrnies.1  These  schools  became  rather 
numerous  about  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century ;  their 

i.  Philadelphia  Academy,  probably  the  earliest,  1753;  Phillips  An- 
dover,  1780;  Phillips  Exeter,  1780. — Brown,  E.  E.,  Secondary  Education, 
Monograph  No.  4,  in  Education  in  the  United  States.  "  At  the  close  of 
the  centurv  New  York  hnd  nineteen  of  these  schools,  and  Massachusetts 
about  an  equal  number.'' — Boone,  Education  in  the  United  States,  72. 


207]  DURING  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY  4i 

curricula  were  liberal  and  comprehensive,  comprising  most  of 
the  studies  taught  in  the  colleges  and  many  others  besides.*" 
They  taught  Latin  and  Greek,  and  rivaled  and  often  supplanted  , 
the  grammar  schools  as  preparatory  schools  for  college.3    Since 
the   academies   placed   more   emphasis  •  on   English   branches, 
sciences,  geography,  mathematics  and  history,  they  consequently 
influenced  college  admission  requirements  in  those  subjects; 
and,  as  we  shall  presently  see,  these  studies  were  rapidly  in- 
troduced as  entrance  subjects  during  the  first  half  of  the  nine- 
teenth century. 

At  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  requirements  for 
admission  to  college  were,  in  general,  ability  to  read,  translate 
and  construe  grammatically  Cicero's  Orations,  Virgil,  Sallust, 
or  Caesar,  and  ordinary  Greek,  such  as  the  Greek  Testament, 
Isocrates,  etc. ;  to  write  English  into  Latin,  and,  except  at 
Harvard,  a  knowledge  of  the  rules  and  processes  of  vulgar 
arithmetic.  For  Yale,  Princeton,  and  Columbia  the  require- 
ments remained  practically  unchanged  till  1820,  except  that 
Columbia  required  more  classics  in  i8n,4  and  Yale  made  a 
slight  advance  in  classics  in  i8i7.5  At  Harvard  the  require- 
ments for  admission,  as  prescribed  by  the  statutes  of  1807,  show 
a  decided  advance  over  those  of  1798,  last  cited,  both  in  amount 
and  defmiteness.  Below  the  section  on  admission  is  quoted  in 
full: 

2.  The  following  were  the  studies  taught  in  academies  about  1800. 
I  have  been  unable  to  find  any  uniform  curriculum,  for  the  practice 
varied  in  different  academies;  but,  from  a  series  of  letters  in  Barnard's 
Journal,  containing  reminiscences  of  school  days  by  famous  men,  and 
from  William  Winterbotham's  contemporaneous  account  of  schools  in 
1795,  and  that  of  Noah  Webster,  I  have  concluded  that  the  average 
academic  course  comprised  the  following  studies :     The  "  three  R's," 
English    grammar,    Latin,    and    Greek,    geography,    algebra,    geometry, 
natural  philosophy,  astronomy,  music,  composition,  oratory,  bookkeep- 
ing, logic,  and  virtue. 

3.  "  Next  in  importance  to  the  grammar  schools  are  the  academies,  in 
which,  as  well  as  in  the  grammar  schools,  young  citizens  are  fitted  for 
admission     to    the     university." — Winterbotham,     William,     American 
Schools  and  Education,  1795;  Barnard's  Am.  Jr.  of  Ed.,  24,  141. 

4.  All  the  ^Eneid,  Dalzel's  Collectanea  Graca  Minora,  two  books  of 
Xenophon's  Cyropedia,  and  two  books  of  the  Iliad. 

5.  Sallust,  and  Dalzel's  Collectanea  Grceca  Minora. 


42  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [208 

"  No  one  shall  be  admitted,  unless  he  be  thoroughly  ac- 
quainted with  the  Grammar  of  the  Greek  and  Latin  languages, 
in  the  various  parts  thereof,  including  Prosody — can  properly 
construe  and  parse  Greek  and  Latin  authors — be  well  in- 
structed in  the  following  rules  of  Arithmetic,  namely,  Nota- 
tion, simple  and  compound,  Addition,  Subtraction,  Multipli- 
cation, and  Division,  together  with  Reduction  and  the  single 
Rule  of  Three;  have  well  studied  a  Compendium  of  Geography, 
can  translate  English  into  Latin  correctly — and  have  a  good 
moral  character.  Each  candidate  shall  be  examined  in  the 
Grammar  of  the  Greek  and  Latin  languages,  and  in  any  parts 
of  the  following  Greek  and  Latin  Books,  with  every  part  of 
which  he  must  be  acquainted,  namely,  Dalzel's  Collectanea 
Graeca  Minora,  The  Greek  Testament,  Virgil,  Sallust  and 
Cicero's  Select  Orations." 

Here  for  the  first  time  arithmetic  appears  among  the  list  of 
subjects  required  for  entrance  to  Harvard  College,  and  the 

/  exact  parts  of  the  arithmetic  are  very  precisely  indicated. 
There  is  now  no  question  that  the  requirements  for  admission 

(  were  quantitative ;  that  is  to  say,  ability  to  read  ordinary  Latin 
and  Greek  was  no  longer  sufficient,  but  each  candidate  must  be 
prepared  in  a  definite  amount  in  certain  prescribed  books. 
There  is  also  an  increase  in  the  amount  of  both  Latin  and  Greek 
required  for  entrance — Sallust,  and  Dalzel's  Collectanea 
Grccca  Minora;  also  geography  appears  for  the  first  time  any- 
where as  an  admission  subject.  The  introduction  of  geography 
as  a  requirement  for  admission  should  not  be  construed  as  a 
recognition  of  science,  or  as  a  symptom  of  an  increasing  interest 
in  scientific  study.  A  knowledge  of  geography,  particularly 
ancient  geography,  was  required  simply  because  it  helped  to  a 
better  understanding  of  the  classics.  For  the  same  reason,  it 
will  be  seen,  ancient  history  found  a  place  among  entrance  sub- 
jects a  few  years  later.  Geography,  then,  was  the  first  of  the 
newer  sort  of  studies  to  find  a  place  among  admission  require- 
ments. Geography  was  also  introduced  at  Princeton  in  1819, 
at  Columbia  in  1821,  at  Yale  in  1822,  and  in  several  other  col- 
leges before  1830. 


509]  DURING   THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY  43 

We  have  mentioned  the  fact  that  English  grammar  may  have 
been  intended  by  grammar  as  an  entrance  term  at  Williams 
College  in  1795.  We  are  certain,  however,  that  English  gram- 
mar was  required  for  admission  to  Princeton  in  iSiQ.6  The 
same  subject  was  required  at  Yale  in  1822,  and  at  Columbia 
about  1860.  i.The  laws  of  Harvard  College  for  1820  make 
another  important  addition  to  the  list  of  subjects  required  for 
admission :  "  Algebra  to  the  end  of  simple  equations,  compre- 
hending also  the  doctrines  of  roots  and  powers,  arithmetical 
and  geometrical  progression."  Columbia  followed  with  al- 
gebra in  1821,  Yale  in  1847,  and  Princeton  in  1848. 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind  at  this  point  that  in  this  his- 
torical discussion  we  are  primarily  concerned  with  the  develop- 
ment of  requirements  for  admission  to  the  academic  course. 
For  it  was  the  introduction  of  what  may  be  called  modern  sub- 
jects— geography,  English,  higher  mathematics,  history,  natural 
science,  etc, — alongside  of  the  long  cherished  classical  require-V 
ments  of  the  arts  course  that  made  the  problem  of  colleger 
entrance  requirements  such  a  complicated  and  troublesome' 
affair  during  the  last  quarter  of  a  century.  Other,  parallel 
courses  of  study  began  to  be  organized  about  the  middle  of  the 
nineteenth  century ;  these  had  their  own  peculiar  admission  re- 
quirements, uninfluenced  by  tradition.  The  earliest  instance  of 
the  establishment  of  a  parallel  course  was  at  Columbia  in  1830, 
and  it  is  interesting  in  this  connection,  because  in  the  require- 
ments for  admission  to  this  course  French  appeared  for  the  first 
time  as  an  entrance  subject.7 

6.  Requirements  for  admission  to  Princeton,  1819 :    "  No  student  shall 
be  admitted  into  the  freshmen  or  lowest  class  in  this  college,  unless  he 
be  accurately  acquainted  with  the  grammar,  including  prosody,  of  both 
the  Greek  and  Latin  tongues ;  unless  he  be  master  of  Caesar's  Commen- 
taries, Sallust,  select  parts  of  Ovid's  Metamorphoses,  Virgil,  the  Ora- 
tions of  Cicero,  contained  in  the  volume  in  usum  Delphini,  the  Evangel- 
ists of  the  Greek  Testament,  Murphy's  Lucian,  or  Dalzel's  Collectanea 
Gr&ca  Minora,  the  first  three  books  of  Xenophon's   Cyropedia,  and 
Mair's  or  Clark's  Introduction  to  the  Making  of  Latin;  and  unless  he 
be  well  acquainted  with  arithmetic,  English  grammar,  and  geography."— 
Laws  for  1819. 

7.  In  1830  a  scientific  and  literary  course  was  established  at  Columbia, 


44  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [210 

Thus  far  our  attention  has  been  confined  to  colleges  which 
have  been  most  influential  in  shaping  the  educational  policy 
of  the  East.  One  of  the  first,  and,  perhaps,  most  influential,  of 
the  Western  colleges  was  the  University  of  Michigan.  It  has 
additional  interest  for  us,  also,  because  it  was  one  of  the 
earliest  State  colleges.  The  University  of  Michigan  was  opened 
in  1841  with  six  students.  The  following  were  the  require- 
ments for  admission : 8 

"  Geography,  arithmetic,  the  elements  of  algebra,  the  gram- 
mar of  the  English,  Latin  and  Greek  languages,  the  exercise 
and  reader  of  Andrews,  Cornelius  Nepos,  Vita  Washingtonii, 
Sallust,  Cicero's  Orations,  Jacobs'  Greek  Reader,  and  the 
Evangelists." 

The  same  subjects,  it  will  be  seen,  were  required  for  admis- 
sion to  the  University  of  Michigan  as  in  the  Eastern  colleges, 
namely :  Greek,  Latin,  English  grammar,  geography,  arithme- 
tic, and  the  elements  of  algebra.  At  the  University  of  Michigan, 
however,  the  amount  of  classics  required  for  entrance  was  at 
first  considerably  less  than  in  the  other  colleges  discussed, 
because  of  the  fact,  perhaps,  that  Michigan  was  a  new  college, 
and  was  in  a  section  of  the  country  where  opportunities  for 
preparation  were  unequal  to  those  offered  in  the  longer  settled 
parts  of  the  country.  The  requirements  for  admission,  how- 
ever, were  soon  raised ;  and  in  1847  the  following  respectable 
list  appeared  in  the  catalogue :  "  English  Grammar,  Geography,. 
Arithmetic,  Algebra  through  simple  equations,  Kreb's  Guide 
for  the  writing  of  Latin,  Latin  Reader,  Cornelius  Nepos,, 

with  a  "  view  of  rendering  the  benefits  of  education  more  generally  ac- 
cessible to  the  community."  For  admission  to  the  course,  in  addition  to 
other  subjects,  a  grammatical  knowledge  of  the  French  language  and 
ability  to  translate  Voltaire's  Histoire  de  Charles  XII.,  or  Bossuet's 
Discours  sur  I'Histoire  Universelle,  and  to  write  the  exercises  in  Levi- 
zac's  grammar  were  required.  The  course  did  not  appear  to  "find  favor 
with  the  public,"  and  was  discontinued  in  1843.  Statutes  of  Columbia 
College,  1836  and  1843. 

8.  Farrand,  E.  M.,  History  of  the  University  of  Michigan,  p.  42.  "The 
catalougue  of  1843-44  is  the  earliest  I  find,  and  perhaps  the  earliest 
issued." — Librarian  R.  C.  Davis,  in  a  letter  to  the  writer. 


2ii]  DURING   THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY  45 

Cicero's  Orations,  Virgil's  Bucolics  and  six  books  of  the  ^Eneid, 
Greek  Reader  through,  Latin  and  Greek  Grammar,  Keightley's 
(or  Pinnock's  Goldsmith's)  Grecian  History  to  the  time  of 
Alexander  the  Great,  and  Roman  to  the  time  of  the  Empire." 
This  shows  that  a  considerable  advance  in  the  requirements  for 
admission  came  with  the  thorough  establishment  and  rapid 
growth  of  the  university.9  With  the  addition  of  the  "  four 
Gospels,"  in  Greek,  in  1850,  the  requirements  for  admission  to 
the  University  of  Michigan  were  about  equal  to  those  in  the 
Eastern  colleges.  Being  unhampered  by  tradition,  Michigan 
from  the  first  was  able  to  introduce  among  its  entrance  require- 
ments subjects  which  had  been  slowly  working  into  the  older 
colleges  for  a  hundred  years. 

In  1844  candidates  for  admission  to  Harvard  College  were 
examined  by  the  mathematical  department  in  the  following 
subjects :  "In  Davies'  and  Lacroix's  Arithmetic,  Euler's 
Algebra  or  Davies'  First  Lessons  in  Algebra  to  the 
Extraction  of  the  Square  Root,  and  an  Introduction  to 
Geometry  and  the  Science  of  Form,  prepared  from  the  most 
approved  Prussian  Text  Books;  to  VII.  Of  Proportions." 
Here  we  find  not  only  an  advance  in  the  amount  of  algebra  re- 
quired for  admission,  but  geometry  for  the  first  time  required. 
Geometry  was  also  made  an  entrance  subject  at  Yale  in  1856, 
at  Princeton,  Michigan  and  Cornell  in  1868,  and  at  Columbia  in 
1870.  History  as  an  admission  requirement  was  first  intro- 
duced at  Harvard  College  in  i847.10?  History  was  also  added^ 
at  Michigan  the  same  year,11  and  at  Cornell  in  1868.  The  re-/ 
quirement  in  history  was  still  further  extended  by  the  addition, 
of  United  States  history  at  the  University  of  Michigan  in  1870, 
due  doubtless  to  the  increased  feeling  of  patriotism  in  the  North 
after  the  close  of  the  Civil  War.  The  same  year  physical 

9.  In   1847  there  were  89  students  in  the  University  of  Michigan, 
against  7  in  1841. 

10.  In  the  Catalogue  for  1846-47,  Worcester's  Elements  of  History 
(Ancient  History)  is  required  for  admission. 

11.  "  Grecian  History  to  the  Time  of  Alexander  the  Great,  and  Roman 
to  the  time  of  the  Empire." — Catalogue,  1846-47. 


46  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [21- 

geography  was  made   a   requirement   for   admission   to  both 
Harvard  and  Michigan. 

This  running  account  of  the  introduction  of  new  subjects 
as  requirements  for  admission  to  college  has  aimed  to  show 
both  when  and  where  these  subjects  were  first  introduced,  and 
also  how  rarjidly  they  were  added.  In  1800  there  were  only 
three  subjects  required  for  admission  to  any  college  in  the 
United  States — Latin,  Greek,  and  arithmetic.  Between  1800 
and  1870  eight  new  subjects  found  a  place  among  admission 
requirements — geography,  English  grammar,  algebra,  geome- 
try, ancient  history,  physical  geography,  English  composition, 
and  United  States  history.  In  other  words,  in  less  than  seventy 
years  eight  new  entrance  subjects  were  introduced,  whereas 
during  the  century  and  a  half  prior  to  1800  the  only  addition  of 
any  consequence  was  elementary  arithmetic. 

Besides  the  continual  addition  of  new  subjects,  between  1800 
and  1870  there  was  a  gradual  but  substantial  increase  in  the 
amount  of  Latin  and  Greek  required  for  admission.  Not  only 
was  the  requirement  in  the  original  authors — Tully,  Virgil,  and 
the  Greek  Testament — increased,  but  new  authors  were  added. 
Dalzel's  Collectanea  Graeca  Minora  was  introduced  at  Harvard 
in  1807,  at  Columbia  in  1811,  at  Yale  in  1817,  and  at  Princeton 
in  1819;  in  1825  Jacobs'  Greek  Reader  was  substituted  for  Dal- 
zel  at  Harvard,  in  1827  at  Columbia,  in  1829  at  Yale,  and  as  an 
alternative  for  Dalzel  at  Princeton  in  1832 ;  two  books  of 
Xenophon's  Cyropediawere  required  at  Columbia  in  1811, three 
books  of  the  same  classic  at  Princeton  in  1819;  in  1811,  also, 
Columbia  required  two  books  of  the  Iliad,  three  books  in  1821 ; 
and  Harvard  added  three  books  of  Homer  in  1860  as  an  alter- 
native for  part  of  the  reader;  both  Columbia  and  Yale  added 
three  books  of  the  Anabasis  in  1848,  Columbia  dropping  the 
Cyropeclia.  By  1865  the  Greek  Testament  or  selections  there- 
from had  ceased  to  be  a  required  subject  for  admission  to  the 
colleges  under  consideration,  and  a  reader,  Jacobs',  Bullion's, 
Colton's,  or  Felton's,  and  the  Anabasis  or  the  Iliad  had  been 
substituted. 

The  changes  in  the  Latin  requirements  were  not  so  frequent 


2i3]  DURING   THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY  47 

or  so  numerous  as  in  the  case  of  the  Greek.  The  Greek  Testa- 
ment had  held  its  place  for  two  centuries,  more  because  of  its 
religious  character  than  because  of  the  superior  quality  of  the 
language.  And  when  the  Greek  Testament  began  to  be  less 
used  as  an  admission  subject,  profane  authors,  naturally,  were 
promptly  substituted.  In  1800  the  only  Latin  authors  required 
were  Cicero,  Virgil,  Sallust,  and  Caesar.  These  continued, 
with  some  fluctuations  in  amount,  as  the  staple  authors  until 
1870.  By  that  time,  however,  Caesar,  or  additional  reading  in 
Cicero,  was  beginning  to  supplant  Sallust,  because  of  the  fact, 
probably,  that  the  philosophical  character  of  the  latter  and  its 
peculiarities  in  style  rendered  it  less  suitable  for  preparatory 
students.12  Besides  the  three  constants,  as  they  may  be  termed 
— Cicero,  Virgil  and  Caesar — other  authors  were  added  to,  and 
occasionally  substituted  for,  portions  of  these.  Select  parts  of 
Ovid's  Metamorphoses  were  introduced  at  Princeton  in  1819, 
with  no  reduction,  however,  in  the  other  authors.  At  Colum- 
bia, also,  five  books  of  Livy  were  introduced  in  1821,  with  a 
slight  reduction  in  the  amount  of  Caesar,  Cicero,  and  Virgil ; 
and  Viri  Romae  was  added  in  1865.  During  this  period,  also, 
the  amount  of  arithmetic  was  constantly  increased  until,  by( 
1870,  arithmetic  complete  with  the  metric  system  of  weights  and 
measures  was  the  common  requisition.  i 

The  year  1870,  or  thereabouts,  marks  a  natural  transition  in 
the  history  of  college  admission  requirements.  At  this  time  the 
old  colonial  college,  with  its  mediaeval  traditions,  its  single 
degree,  and  its  homogeneous  course  of  study,  was  rapidly 
evolving  into  the  modern  university.  Students  who  had  left 
college  as  boys  at  the  outbreak  of  the  Rebellion  returned  men,/ 

12.  "  In  substituting  Caesar  for  Sallust  (which  was  formerly  re- 
quired) the  Faculty  have  been  influenced  by  a  desire  to  introduce  Sallust 
into  the  college  course,  from  which,  from  the  philosophical  character  of 
its  views,  and  the  peculiarity  of  its  style,  they  apprehend  it  to  be  better 
suited  than  to  the  preparatory  course,  and  also  by  a  wish  that  any  time 
gained  by  the  substitution  of  an  easier  for  a  more  difficult  author  should 
be  devoted  to  the  acquisition  of  a  more  thorough  acquaintance  with 
syntax  and  prosody,  and  to  the  practice  of  writing  Latin." — Catalogue 
of  Harvard  University,  1836^-37. 


48  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [214 

no  longer  amenable  to  the  old-fashioned  disciplines.  The  elec- 
tive system,  the  largest  and  most  significant  movement  in  the 
history  of  higher  education  during  the  last  half  century, 
had  set  in  firmly,  particularly  at  the  larger  colleges.  About 
this  time,  also,  English,  modern  languages,  and  science  began  to 
gain  a  footing  among  admission  requirements.  Also  parallel 
courses,  leading  to  semi-classical  degrees,  with  alternate  sets  of 
entrance  conditions,  were  being  established  in  most  colleges. 
The  date  1870  also  marked  at  Harvard  University  the  begin- 
ning of  a  new  and  progressive  regime,  which  has  given  a  power- 
ful impulse  to  higher  education  in  the  United  States,  and  has 
been  the  source  of  some  of  the  sanest  and  most  influential  edu- 
cational ideas.  At  this  point,  therefore,  we  shall  pause  for  a 
short  summary.  The  status  of  college  admission  requirements 
at  1870  can  be  represented  most  conveniently  by  introducing 
the  regulations  for  admission  to  the  A.  B.  course  from  the 
catalogues  of  six  leading  colleges.  The  sections  quoted  are 
from  the  catalogues  for  1869-70.  They  appear  below  as  foot- 
notes.13 

l$  HARVARD. 

Candidates  for  admission  to  the  Freshman  class  are  examined  as  fol- 
lows : 

LATIN. 

In  the  whole  of  Virgil. 

The  whole  of  Caesar's  Commentaries. 

The  Orations  of  Cicero,  included  in  Folsom's,  Johnson's,  or  Stuart's 
-edition  (Folsom's  edition  of  1859  contains  eleven  speeches). 

Latin  Grammar,  including  Prosody. 

And  in  writing  Latin. 

GREEK. 

In  Felton's  Greek  Reader. 

Or  the  whole  of  the  Anabasis  of  Xenophon ;  and  the  first  three  books 
of  Homer's  Iliad  (omitting  the  Catalogue  of  Ships  in  the  second  book)  ; 
Greek  Grammar,  including  Prosody,  and  in  writing  Greek,  with  the 
accents. 

Real  equivalents  will  be  received  for  any  of  the  books  named  above,  or 
for  parts  of  them. 

MATHEMATICS. 

In  Arithmetic,  (including  the  Metric  System  of  Weights  and 
Measures,  added  in  1868). 


215]  DURING   THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY  49 

For  the  purpose  of  a  more  ready  comparison,  the  require- 
ments for  admission  to  Harvard,  Yale,  Princeton,  Columbia, 

The  elements  of  Algebra,  as  far  as  through  Quadratic  Equations. 
(Advance  made  in  1868.) 

Elementary  Plane  Geometry,  including  so  much  as  is  contained  in  the 
first  XIII  chapters  of  Professor  Peirce's  Treatise,  and  (after  1870) 
in  the  use  of  Logarithms. 

HISTORY  AND  GEOGRAPHY. 

In  the  elements  of  Physical  Geography  (introduced  in  1870). 

In  Ancient  and  Modern  Geography. 

In  the  historical  and  geographical  notices  found  in  the  required  Greek 
and  Latin  text-books. 

And  in  Smith's  Smaller  History  of  Greece,  or  Sewell's  History  of 
Greece. 

ENGLISH   (INTRODUCED  IN   1866). 

Students  are  also  required  to  be  examined,  as  early  as  possible  after 
their  admission,  in  reading  English.  Prizes  will  be  awarded  for  excel- 
lence. For  1870  students  may  prepare  themselves  in  Craik's5  English  of 
Shakespeare  (Julius  Caesar),  or  in  Milton's  Comus.  Attention  to 
derivations  and  Critical  Analysis  is  recommended. 

YALE. 

Candidates  for  admission  to  the  Freshman  Class  are  examined  in  the 
following  books  and  subjects: 

Latin  Grammar,  including  Prosody. 

Sallust— Jugurthine  War,  or  four  books  of  Caesar. 

Cicero — Seven  Orations. 

Virgil — The  Bucolics,  Georgics,  and  first  six  books  of  the  /Eneid. 

Arnold's  Latin  Prose  Composition,  to  the  Passive  roice  (first  XII 
chapters). 

Greek  Grammar — Including  Prosody. 

Xenophon — Anabasis,  first  three  books. 

Greek  Reader — Jacobs,  Colton,  or  Felton. 

In  place  of  the  Greek  Reader  the  candidate  is  at  liberty  to  offer  the 
last  four  books  of  Xenophon's  Anabasis  or  four  books  of  Homer's 
Iliad. 

Higher  Arithmetic— Including  the  metric  system  of  weights  and 
measures. 

Day's  Algebra,  to  Quadratic  Equations. 

Playf air's  Euclid — first  two  books  (introduced  in  1856). 

The  first,  third,  and  fourth  books  of  Davies'  Legendre  Elements  of 


50  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS 

Michigan,  and  Cornell    have  been  arranged  in  the  form  of  a 
comparative  table,  which  appears  further  on.    A  careful  study  of 

Geometry,  or  of  Loomis'  Elements  of  Geometry,  may  be  offered  as  a 
substitute  for  Play  fair's  Euclid. 

English  Grammar  and  Geography,  a  thorough  knowledge  of  which 
will  be  required. 

PRINCETON. 

Candidates  for  admission  to  the  Freshman,  or  lowest,  class  are 
examined  in  the  following  books  and  subjects : 

ENGLISH. 

English  Grammar:  Orthography,  Punctuation,  Short  and  Simple 
English  Composition,  Geography,  Ancient  and  Modern. 

LATIN. 

Latin  Grammar  (including  Prosody),  Caesar  (five  books  of  Com- 
mentaries), Sallust  (Catiline  or  Jugurtha),  Virgil  (Ecologues  and  six 
books  of  the  ^Eneid),  Cicero's  select  Orations  (six),  Arnold's  Prose 
Composition  (twelve  chapters). 

GREEK. 

Greek  Grammar,  Greek  Reader  (Bullion's  or  Felton's),  Xenophoti 
(three  books  of  the  Anabasis),  Arnold's  Greek  Prose  Composition 
(twelve  exercises). 

MATHEMATICS. 

Arithmetic,  Algebra  (to  Quadratic  Equations),  Geometry  (first  book 
of  Euclid  or  an  equivalent). 

COLUMBIA. 

Applicants  for  admission  to  the  Freshman  Class  are  examined  in  the 
English,  Latin,  and  Greek  Grammars1,  Greek  and  Latin  Prosody  and 
Composition,  Ancient  and  Modern  Georgraphy,  Arithmetic,  Algebra  as 
far  as  the  end  of  simple  equations,  and  the  following  books,  or  their 
equivalents,  in  the  Latin  and  Greek  languages,  viz:  De  viris  illustribus 
urbis  Romae,  Caesar's  Commentaries  de  Bello  Gallico,  the  whole  six  books 
of  Virgil's  ^Eneid,  six  orations  of  Cicero,  the  selections  from  Lucian  in 
Jacobs'  Greek  Reader,  three  books  of  Xenophon's  Anabasis,  and  two 
books  of  Homer's  Iliad. 

After  October,  1869,  the  requisitions  for  admission  to  the  Freshman 
class  will  embrace  four  books  of  Legendre's  Geometry,  and  a  knowledge 
of  the  Metric  System  of  Weights  and  measures  and  moneys,  in  addition 
to  the  foregoing. 


2i7J  DURING   THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY  51 

the  table  will  show  that  ( i )  Harvard  required  the  largest  amount 
of  Latin  for  admission  in  1870;  (2)  Harvard  also  required  the 

CORNELL   UNIVERSITY.* 

All  candidates,  no  matter  what  may  be  the  course  of  study  they  intend 
to  pursue,  must  pass  a  thoroughly  satisfactory  examination  in  the 
following  subjects:  (i)  Geography,  (2)  English  Grammar,  including 
Orthography  and  Syntax,  (3)  Arithmetic  and  Algebra  to  Quadratic 
Equations. 

Candidates  intending  to  pursue  the  Course  in  Arts  must  be  prepared,, 
in  addition  to  the  foregoing,  to  undergo  an  examination  in  the  following 
mathematical  and  classical  studies :  i.  Mathematics — Plane  Geometry 
2.  Latin — Grammar,  including  Prosody;  writing  Latin  (McClintock's 
First  Latin  Book,  or  fifty  exercises  in  Arnold's  Latin  Prose  Compo- 
tion)  ;  the  whole  of  Caesar's  Commentaries  on  the  Gallic  War;  the  whole 
of  Virgil's  ^Eneid  (Frieze's  edition)  ;  Cicero's  Select  Orations  (John- 
son's edition)  ;  Roman  History  (the  first  half  of  Smith's  Smaller  His- 
tory)- 3-  Greek — Kendrick's  Greek  Ollendorf ;  the  etymology  of  either 
Hadley's  or  Curtius'  Greek  Grammar;  one  book  of  Homer;  three  books 
of  Xenophon's  Anabasis  (or  Jacobs',  Felton's,  Colton's,  or  Owen's 
Greek  Reader),  and  Greek  History  (the  first  ten  chapters  of  Smith's 
Smaller  History).  In  Latin  and  Greek  equivalents  to  the  list  here 
given  will  be  accepted.  / 

UNIVERSITY  OF  MICHIGAN. 

CLASSICAL    COURSE. 

Candidates  for  this  course  will  be  examined  in  the  following  studies: 

1.  English  Grammar — Orthography,  Etymology,  Syntax,  and  Prosody. 

2.  Geography — General   facts   of   Physical   Geography,   the    Political 
Geography  of  Europe  and  the  United  States,  and  Ancient  Geography, 
particularly  that  of  Italy,  Greece  and  Asia  Minor. 

3.  History — An  outline  of  Roman  History,  from  the  foundation  of  the 
city  to  the  battle  of  Actium ;  of  Grecian  History  from  the  beginning  of 
the  Persian  War  to  the  death  of  Alexander,  and  of  the  History  of  the 
United  States  to  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  War  (added  in  1869). 

4.  Mathematics — Arithmetic,  Fundamental  Rules,  Fractions,  common 

i  , 

*  Cornell  University  was  founded  in  1868,  but  the  admission  require- 
ments, above  quoted,  are  the  same  as  in  1868. 

I  have  also  examined  the  catalogues  of  several  of  the  smaller  colleges, 
such  as  Amherst,  Dartmouth,  Brown,  Syracuse,  Union,  etc.,  and  find  the 
conditions  for  admission  about  the  same  as  in  the  case  of  the  larger 
colleges,  except  the  amount  required  is  usually  less. 


52  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [218 

most  Greek,  although  Yale  and  Princeton  required  nearly  as 
much;14  (3)  Harvard  demanded  the  fullest  preparation  in 
mathematics;  while  (4)  at  Princeton,  in  1870,  there  was  ap- 
parently the  earliest  serious  attempt  to  make  English  composi- 
tion a  definite  requisition.  The  lowest  requirements  in  the 
classics,  particularly  in  Greek,  were  at  the  University  of  Michi- 
gan ;  but  this  was  compensated,  perhaps,  by  United  States  his- 
tory and  physical  geography.  The  following  year,  however, 
physical  geography  was  required  for  entrance  to  Harvard.  The 
appearance  of  the  latter  subject  as  an  entrance  requirement  is  a 
symptom  of  the  modern  scientific  tendency,  which  has  had  such 
a  controlling  influence  in  the  field  of  education  since  the  middle 
of  the  nineteenth  century.  In  fact,  within  six  years  (in  1876) 
physics  found  its  way  among  the  admission  subjects  at  Har-. 
vard.  In  1825  only  the  simplest  elements  of  text-book  chem- 
istry, natural  history,  and  natural  philosophy  were  studied  at 
Harvard  College;  but  within  twenty-five  years  every  regular 
student  at  Harvard  was  pursuing  some  branch  of  science. 

and  decimal,  Compound  Numbers,  Percentage,  Proportion,  Involution 
and  Evolution. 

Algebra, — to  Quadratic  Equations  : 

Geometry, — the  first  four  books  of  Davies'  Legendre,  including  the 
problems,  or  an  equivalent  in  other  authors. 

5.  Latin — Latin  Grammar,  four  books  of  Caesar's  Commentaries;  six 
Select  Orations  of  Cicero;  six  books  of  the  ^Eneid,  with  special  refer- 
ence to  the  Prosody ;  Harkness'  Introduction  to  Latin  Composition,  from 
page  50  to  page  166;  or  forty-four  exercises  in  Arnold's  Latin  Prose 
Composition. 

6.  Greek — Greek   Grammar;   three  books   of    Xenophon's   Anabasis; 
Arnold's  Greek  Prose  Composition,  with  special  reference  to  writing 
with  the  accents,  and  to  the  general  principles  of  syntax.    Three  chapter 
of  Boise's  Prose  Composition,  based  on  the  first  book  of  the  Anabasis, 
are  recommended  as  a  substitute  for  the  last  fifteen  exercises  of  Arnold's 
Composition. 

14.  The  candidate  for  admission  to  Harvard  who  offered  the  Anabasis' 
entire  instead  of  the  reader  would  be  prepared  on  about  325  pages; 
without  the  Anabasis,  about  226  pages;  while  at  Yale  the  requirement 
would  likewise  be  280  or  270  pages,  and  at  Princeton  280  pages. 


11  § 


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Composition 


54  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [220 

C  When  this  table  for  1870  is  compared  with  the  one  for  1800 
the  changes  in  college  requirements  that  occurred  during  the 
first  seventy  years  of  the  nineteenth  century  are  plainly  evi- 
dent. First,  the  original  requirements  of  Latin,  Greek,  and 
arithmetic  increased  substantially  in  amount.  Secondly,  the 
range  of  authors  extended,  and  greater  liberty  of  substitution 
was  permitted.  Thirdly,  the  amount  to  be  read  in  preparation 
for  college  became  very  definitely  specified.  And,  fourthly,  the 
number  of  entrance  subjects  was  more  than  doubled.  In  1870 
there  was  a  fair  degree  of  uniformity  in  the  subjects  for  ad- 
mission, but  there  was  nothing  like  uniformity  in  the  amount 
required. 

The  tendencies  in  the  development  of  admission  require- 
ments during  the  last  thirty  years  have  been  the  same  ones  that 
were  prominent  in  1870;  that  is,  towards  an  increase  in  the 
number  of  subjects,  an  increase  in  amount  required,  greater 
exactness,  and,  most  prominent  of  all,  towards  greater  freedom 
of  option.  In  1870  the  number  of  different  subjects  required 
for  admission  to  college  was  six:  Latin,  Greek,  mathematics, 
history,  geography,  and  EngHsh  (composition  and  gram- 
mar).15 Of  the  six  colleges  thus  far  discussed,  Harvard,  Cor- 
nell, and  Michigan  were  the  only  ones  requiring  all  six  subjects 
for  entrance.  From  1870  to  1900  the  new  subjects  that  have 
made  their  way  into  the  list  of  admission  requirements  are 
modern  languages,  English  literature  and  composition,  and 
natural  science,  descriptive  and  experimental.16 

It  seems  astonishing,  in  view  of  the  valuable  literatures  in 
the  German  and  the  French  languages,  and  of  their  service  to 
scholars,  that  no  college  until  1875  regarded  a  knowledge  of 
either  one  of  these  languages  a  necessary  study  for  admission. 
In  fact,  modern  languages  are  comparatively  recent  additions 
to  the  college  curriculum.  After  the  Revolution,  as  the  result, 
doubtless,  of  the  friendly  relations  between  this  country  and 
France,  the  French  language  broke  out  sporadically  among 

15.  See  table,  p.  53. 

16.  Of  twelve  other  colleges    whose  catalogues  for   1870-71   I  have 
examined   none  required  any  subject  other  than  these  for  admission  to 
the  A.  B.  course. 


22 1 J  DURING   THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY  55 

the  colleges.  French  was  introduced  at  Columbia  in  1779,  at 
William  and  Mary  about  the  same  time  under  the  influence  of 
Thomas  Jefferson,  at  Williams  College  in  1793;  and  at  Har- 
vard extra  instruction  in  French  was  provided  for  in  1787,  and 
'in  1790  Juniors  were  permitted  to  substitute  French  for  He- 
brew.17 Modern  languages,  however,  gained  headway  very 
slowly,  and  whatever  recognition  they  did  receive  was  due  sim- 
ply to  their  practical  or  ornamental  value.  They  were  never 
bolstered  up,  as  the  classics  have  been,  by  the  questionable 
theory  of  formal  discipline.  In  fact,  the  modern  languages  were 
not  generally  regarded  seriously  until  the  middle  of  the  nine- 
teenth century. JS 

Attention  has  already  been  called  to  the  fact  that  French  was 
required  at  Columbia  College  in  1830  for  admission  to  the  "  Lit- 
erary and  Scientific  course."  19  The  first  time  French  could  be 
offered  for  admission  to  the  full  classical  course  was  at  Harvard 
in  1 87 1.20  In  1875  a  knowledge  of  either  elementary  French  or 

17.  Harvard  College  Statutes  for  1790  state  that  all  students  under 
twenty-one,  presenting  certificates  from  their  parents,  might  be  excused 
from  Hebrew,  but  must  take  French. 

18.  The  following  extract  from  the  Harvard  College  Laws  of  1814 
indicates  that  French  was  not  early  held  in  high  repute :  "  Students  may 
attend  the   French   Instructer  at  times   not   interfering   with   College 
exercises." 

19.  See  note  7,  p.  43. 

20.  "  An  examination  in  the  translation  of  French  prose  will  be  held 
at  the  beginning  of  the  Freshman  year;  those  Students  who  pass  this 
examination  satisfactorily  will  not  be  required  to  study  French  in  the 
College  course." — Harvard  Catalogue,  1870-1871. 

The  following  statement  also  appears  in  the  Catalogue  of  Yale 
College  for  1875-76: 

"  Each  student  is  required  to  pass  an  examination  in  the  elements 
of  either  the  French  or  the  German  language,  before  entering  (in  the 
Junior  year)  on  the  advanced  study  of  the  one  of  those  languages 
which  he  shall  elect  to  pursue.  An  opportunity  is  given  for  passing 
this  examination  at  the  same  time  with  the  other  examinations  for 
admission;  other  opportunities  will  be  given  at  the  beginning  of  the 
Sophomore  and  Junior  years. 

"  In  French  the  requirements  are,  the  rules  and  forms  of  Part  I.  of 
Otto's  Grammar  (omitting  the  exercises),  and  two  chapters  of 
Fenelon's  Telemaque." 


56  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [222 

German  was  required  of  all  candidates  for  admission.21  Ele- 
mentary French  has  been  required  for  admission  to  Yale  since 
1885,  to  Columbia  since  1891,  to  Princeton  since  1893,  and  to 
Cornell  since  1877  f°r  a^  courses  except  the  classical  course,  and 
since  1897  for  admission  to  the  classical  course.  Before 
French  was  required  for  admission  to  college,  however,  this 
language  had  already  received  considerable  attention  among  the 
first  class  secondary  schools,  especially  in  the  East.22  German 
as  an  entrance  subject  has  had  about  the  same  history  as  French, 
i?  and  has  usually  been  accepted  as  a  substitute.  So  conservative 
is  education,  and  so  enslaved  have  our  colleges  been  to  tradition, 
that  as  late  as  1897  only  60  of  the  432  colleges  reporting  a 
classical  course  required  any  modern  language  for  admission, 
while  402  institutions  required  Latin,  and  318  Greek.23 

The  study  which  has  been  most  seriously  neglected  in  our 
colleges  until  a  very  recent  date  is  English.  During  the  colonial 
period  the  English  used  even  by  recognized  scholars  was 
lamentably  bad.  Anybody  who  has  had  occasion  to  examine  the 
manuscript  laws  and  other  documents  of  the  early  colleges  will 
testify  to  that  fact.  Some  of  the  extracts  in  this  dissertation 
illustrate  the  cheerful  freedom  in  spelling,  capitalization,  and 
punctuation  which  then  existed.  The  long  neglect  of  the  English 
language  is  probably  due  to  three  causes :  First,  the  English 
language  and  literature,  in  comparison  to  the  classics,  is 
relatively  new ;  secondly,  the  indefiniteness  of  the  language 
and  the  lack  of  any  common  standards  have  made  English  diffi- 
cult to  teach ;  and,  thirdly,  culture  and  training  in  the  classics 
have  so  long  been  synonymous  terms  in  the  minds  of  the  learned 

21.  "  The    translation    at    sight   of   easy    French   prose,   or   of   easy 
German  prose,  if  the  candidate  prefer  to  offer  German.     Proficiency  in 
elementary  grammar  will  be  accepted  as  an  offset  for  some  deficiency 
in  translation." — Harvard  University  Catalogue  for  1874-1875. 

22.  In  the  Report  of  the  President  of  Harvard  University  for  1872- 
73  the  following  statement  appears :  "  Already  about  one  half  of  the 
students  come  to  college  qualified  to  pass  such  an  examination  "    (in 
French  or  German). 

23.  Report  of  the  U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Education  for  1896-1897,  p. 
467. 


223]  DURING  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY  57 

that  any  considerable  attention  to  the  mother  tongue  was  re- 
garded as  almost  a  dissipation  of  energy.  Both  in  England 
and  America  educated  men  evidently  proceeded  on  the  theory 
that  a  requisite  facility  in  the  use  of  the  vernacular  would  come, 
somehow  or  other,  from  experience,  general  reading,  or,  best  of 
all,  from  the  translation  of  a  sufficient  quantity  of  Latin  and 
Greek. 

As  late  as  1870  we  found  that  a  rudimentary  knowledge  of 
English  grammar  was  generally  regarded  as  an  adequate  prepa- 
ration in  English  for  the  college  course.  English  literature 
natufally  did  not  appear  as  an  admission  subject  until  the  same 
subject  had  become  well  established  in  the  college  course.  The 
catalogue  of  the  Yale  College  library  for  1743  classified  the 
works  of  Shakespeare,  Spenser,  and  Pope  as  "  Books  of  diver- 
sion."24 English  literature  was  of  little  consequence  as  a  college 
study  until  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century.25  We  have 
stated  above  that  the  first  advance  in  English  as  an  entrance 
subject,  beyond  the  elements  of  grammar,  was  made  by  Prince- 
ton in  1870  by  the  requirement  of  "  short  and  simple  English 
composition."  Princeton  required  nothing  further  in  English, 
however,  for  fifteen  years.  Harvard  required  English  compo- 
sition in  1874,  Columbia  and  Cornell  in  1882,  Michigan  in  1878, 
and  Yale,  with  characteristic  conservatism,  in  1894.  Instead 
of  composition  several  colleges  have  required  a  knowledge  of 
some  text-book  on  rhetoric.26 

Rhetoric  as  a  separate  subject,  however,  has  generally  been 

24.  Schwab,    J.    B.,    The    Yale    College    Curriculum.— Educational 
Review,  June  12,  1901. 

25.  In  the  year  1851-52  lectures  on  the  English  language  and  litera- 
ture were  introduced  in  the  first  half  of  the  senior  year  at  Harvard 
University.    In  1857  readings  in  English  literature  became  part  of  the 
sophomore  course  in  rhetoric. 

26  (a).  At  Princeton,  1884,  Rhetoric— Subject  of  sentences  in  Hart's 
or  Kellogg' s  Rhetoric. 

(fo)  The  catalogue  of  the  University  of  Michigan  from  1874  to  1878 
prescribed  the  following  requirements  in  rhetoric :  "  Hart's  Composi- 
tion and  Rhetoric,  with  special  attention  to  Chapter  I.,  Part  I.,  on 
Punctuation  and  Capitals,  and  to  Chapters  VIII.  and  IX.,  Part  II;,  or*. 
Proof-Reading,  and  on  the  Study  of  the  English  Language." 


58  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [224 

discontinued  by  colleges  that  have  adopted  the  uniform  require- 
ments in  English.  At  present  the  usual  requirement  in  En- 
glish for  admission  to  college  is  the  knowledge  of  certain 
classics  in  both  English  and  American  literature;  some  of  the 
works  are  to  be  read  carefully  and  others  to  be  studied  minutely. 
The  candidate's  mastery  of  the  subject  is  tested  by  questions 
on  the  subject-matter,  literary  form,  structure,  etc.,  of  the  books 
assigned  for  careful  study,  and  by  the  composition  of  a  few 
paragraphs  on  several  topics  chosen  from  the  others.  Exercise 
books  are  frequently  accepted  as  partial  evidence  of  prepara- 
tion. The  idea  in  its  simplest  form  originated  at  Harvard  in 
1874.  The  catalogue  of  Harvard  University  for  1873-74  makes 
the  following  entrance  requirement  in  English : 

"  Each  candidate  will  be  required  to  write  a  short  English 
Composition,  correct  in  spelling,  punctuation,  grammar,  and  ex- 
pression, the  subject  to  be  taken  from  such  works  of  standard 
authors  as  shall  be  announced  from  time  to  time.  The  subject 
for  1874  will  be  taken  from  one  of  the  following  works : 
Shakespeare's  Tempest,  Julius  Caesar,  the  Merchant  of  Venice ; 
Goldsmith's  Vicar  of  Wakefield;  Scott's  Ivanhoe,  and  Lay  of 
the  Last  Minstrel/'  This  method  continued  at  Harvard,  the 
list  of  books  being  changed  slightly  and  increasing  each  year 
until  1895,  when  the  following  works  were  required : 

Shakespeare's  Merchant  of  Venice  and  Twelfth  Night ,  Mil- 
ton's L' Allegro,  II  Penseroso,  Comus,  and  Lycidas,  Longfel- 
low's Evangeline,  the  Sir  Roger  de  Coverley  Papers  in  the 
Spectator,  Macaulay's  Essays  on  Milton  and  Addison,  Web- 
ster's first  Bunker  Hill  Oration,  Irving's  Sketch  Book,  Scott's 
Abbot.  The  amount  of  reading  thus  prescribed  is  about  twice 
that  of  1874.  Since  1896  Harvard  has  followed  the  uniform 
requirements  of  the  New  England  Commission  of  Colleges  and 
Preparatory  Schools.  The  University  of  Michigan  adopted  in 
1878  a  plan  similar  to  that  of  Harvard  in  1874.  A  candidate's 
qualification  in  English  was  determined  by  a  composition  on 
some  subject  selected  from  one  of  the  following  works : 

Shakespeare's  Julius  Caesar  or  Tempest,  Scott's  Old  Mor- 
tality or  Kenilworth,  Dickens'  Christmas  Stories.  In  1883 


225]  DURING   THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY  59 

Cornell  University  based  the  examination  in  English  on  a 
similar  list  of  four  classics.  Princeton  began  by  requiring  in 
1885  an  essay  on  Cooper,  in  1886  on  Irving  or  Goldsmith,  in 
1887  on  Franklin  or  Scott,  and  in  1892  the  requisition  was  ex- 
tended to  four  books.  Columbia  adopted  a  similar  scheme  in 
1891,  and  Yale  in  1894.  The  following,  in  brief,  is  an  outline 
of  the  history  of  English  as  a  college  admission  subject: 
English  grammar,  introduced  at  Princeton  in  1819;  composition, 
as  an  independent  subject,  Princeton,  1870;  rhetoric,  Michigan, 
1873 ;  literature,  Harvard,  1874.  By  1897  the  plan  of  the  New 
England  Commission  of  Colleges  and  Preparatory  Schools  had 
been  pretty  generally  adopted  by  the  leading  colleges  in  the 
United  States,  80  of  432  institutions  giving  an  A.  B.  course 
having  adopted  it. 

Next  to  English  in  importance  the  various  studies  classed 
as  physical  and  natural  sciences  have  been  added  to  the  list  of 
college  admission  subjects  since  1870.  The  earliest  of  these 
subjects  was  physical  geography,  introduced  at  Harvard  in 
1870,  and  at  Michigan  the  same  year.27  This  subject,  if  it 
could  be  regarded  at  that  time  as  a  branch  of  science,  was  cer- 
tainly still  in  the  descriptive  stage.  It  was  usually  included  as 
a  part  of  general  geography,  and  was  probably  not  at  that  time 
differentiated  from  the  latter  subject,  which  had  been  a  require- 
ment for  admission  since  1807.  The  introduction  of  physical 
geography,  however,  may  be  considered  an  indication  of  the 
influence  of  the  scientific  movement  on  admission  requirements. 
The  history  of  natural  science  as  an  entrance  subject  may  be 
said  properly  to  begin  with  the  introduction  of  natural  philoso- 
phy as  a  term  of  admission  to  Syracuse  University  in  i873-28 
In  1876  candidates  for  the  classical  course  at  Harvard  were  re- 
quired to  pass  an  examination  in  one  of  the  following  subjects : 

27.  At    Harvard,    "  The    elements    of     Physical    Geography."      At 
Michigan,  "  General  facts  of  Physical  Geography." 

28.  In  1872,  however,  "  Elementary  Mechanics  (as  much  as  is  con- 
tained   in     Snowball     and     Lund's     Cambridge     Course     of     Natural 
Philosophy)  "  was  accepted  as  a  partial  substitute  for  the  maximum 
requirement  in  Latin  and  Greek  for  admission  to  Harvard  College. 


60  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [226 

(i)  Elementary  botany,  (2)  rudiments  of  physics  and  of 
chemistry,  (3)  rudiments  of  physics  and  of  descriptive  astron- 
[  omy.  Cornell  required  of  all  candidates  for  admission  as  early 
as  1877  a  knowledge  of  physiology;  this  may  be  regarded  as 
another  recognition  of  science.29  The  University  of  Michigan 
required  natural  philosophy  and  botany  in  iSgo.30  It  must  be 
mentioned  in  this  connection,  however,  that  a  school  of  science, 
now  the  Lawrence  Scientific  School,  was  founded  at  Harvard 
University  in  1847,  and  that  the  elements  of  physics  or  chem- 
istry were  required  for  admission  to  certain  special  courses  in 
science  somewhat  earlier  than  these  subjects  were  required  for 
admission  to  the  classical  course.  In  the  same  year,  also,  the 
Sheffield  Scientific  School  was  established  at  Yale,  and  in  1873 
the  John  C.  Green  School  of  Science  was  founded  at  Princeton. 
Here,  however,  we  meet  the  anomalous  situation  of  two  ad- 
vanced schools  of  science  requiring  not  even  the  rudiments  of 
science  for  admission  to  a  scientific  course.  As  late  as  1888  the 
John  C.  Green  School,  while  requiring  no  science  for  entrance, 
regarded  five  books  of  Caesar  and  four  orations  of  Cicero  of 
more  importance,  and  the  Sheffield  Scientific  School  required  no 
natural  science  at  all  until  1895,  when  the  elements  of  botany 
were  prescribed.  At  the  same  time,  however,  four  books  of 
Caesar  and  three  of  Virgil  were  required  for  entrance  to  the 
Sheffield  Scientific  School.  There  are  two  reasons  which  give  a 
plausible  explanation  of  this  fact :  The  first  is  that  the  idea  still 
prevailed  that  the  so-called  mental  discipline  which  came  from  a 
thorough  drill  in  the  classics  and  in  mathematics  afforded  as 
adequate  a  preparation  for  the  pursuit  of  a  scientific  course  as 
for  anything  else.  The  second  is  that  elementary  science  was 
not  thoroughly  taught  then  in  the  preparatory  schools,  and  a 
good  training  in  the  classics  and  mathematics  was  preferable  to 
a  weak  preparation  in  science.  Unfortunately  this  last  argument 
still  applies  in  many  cases.  According  to  the  report  of  Presi- 

29.  Dalton's,  Huxley  and  Youman's,  or  Cutter's  preferred. 

30.  In    Philosophy:    Avery's    or    Gage's    Elements    of    Physics;    in 
Botany:  twenty-seven  chapters  of  Gray's  Lessons,  or  First  and  Second 
Parts  of  Wood's  Class  Book. 


327]  DURING   THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY  61 

dent  Eliot,  as  late  as  1887  the  science  work  in  the  preparatory 
schools  was  in  a  deplorable  state.31  Much  of  the  blame,  how- 
ever, for  the  persistence  of  bad  methods  of  preparatory  science 
teaching  belonged  to  the  colleges.  President  Eliot  recognized 
this  fact  in  discussing  the  policy  of  colleges  in  requiring  cer- 
tain text-books  in  science  for  preparation.  He  said:  "No 
valuable  training  in  experimental  science  was  thereby  intro- 
duced into  the  secondary  schools;  the  scientific  subject  was 
committed  to  memory  just  as  if  it  had  been  history  or  gram- 
mar; and  the  professors  in  the  scientific  department  were  the 
most  strenuous  in  protesting  that  the  requirement  in  science 
did  more  harm  than  good."32  In  response  to  this  report  Har- 
vard University  set  an  example  for  other  colleges,  and  likewise 
initiated  a  movement  which  has  revolutionized  the  methods  of 
science  teaching  in  the  secondary  schools,  by  requiring  for 
admission  in  1887  a  "  course  of  experiments  in  the  subjects 
of  mechanics,  sound,  light,  heat,  and  electricity,  not  less  than 
forty  in  number,  actually  performed  at  school  by  the  pupil." 
By  1897  there  were  nearly  three  times  as  many  colleges  that 
required  physics  for  admission  to  the  A.  B.  course  as  there  were 
that  required  a  modern  language.  Chemistry,  botany,  astron- 
omy, physiography,  etc.,  may  be  regarded  under  the  general 
subject,  sciences,  and  do  not  call  for  separate  treatment. 

Since  1870  the  new  subjects  that  have  been  added  to  the  list 
of  college  admission  requirements  are  English  literature,  French,   j 
and  German,  and  physical  and  natural  science.     Before  1800   1 
college  entrance  requirements  comprised  only  two  subjects — 
the  classics,  and  mathematics  in  its  most  elementary  farm. 
Since  1800  the  requirements  have  been  extended  into  all  fields 
of  knowledge,  comprising  even  manual  and  industrial  branches. 
The  distinctly  new  subjects  that  have  appeared  in  response  to 
nineteenth  century  demands,  and  hand  in  hand  with  the  general 
advance  in  education,  are:    Higher  mathematics,  science,  (de- 

31.  The  Annual  Report  of  the  President  of  Harvard  University  for 
1886-87,  p.  ii  et  seq. 

32.  The  Annual  Report  of  the  President  of  Harvard  University  for 
1886-87,  P.  9- 


62  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [22$ 

scriptive  and  experimental),  history,  English  (grammar,  com- 
position, and  literature),  and  modern  languages  (French,  Ger- 
man, and  Spanish).  In  the  following  table  all  the  subjects 
that  have  been  required  for  admission  to  the  A.  B.  course  since 
the  opening  of  Harvard  College  in  1638  are  arranged  in  the 
order  of  their  introduction.  The  date  opposite  each  subject  is 
as  nearly  correct  as  it  is  possible  to  get  it  with  the  data  at  my 
command. 

TABLE  IV. 

TABLE    SHOWING    THE    CHRONOLOGICAL    ORDER   OF    THE    INTRODUCTION 

COLLEGE  ENTRANCE  SUBJECTS.* 
SUBJECT.  DATE.  COLLEGE. 

Latin  and  Greek 1640 Harvard. 

Arithmetic 1745 Yale. 

Geography 1807 Harvard. 

English  Grammar 1819 Princeton. 

Algebra  1820 Harvard. 

Geometry 1844 Harvard. 

Ancient  History 1847 Harvard  and  Michigan. 

Modern  History  (U.  S.)  1869 .Michigan. 

Physical  Geography 1870 Michigan  and  Harvard. 

English  Composition 1870 Princeton. 

Physical  Science 1872 Harvard. 

English  Literature 1874 Harvard. 

Modern  Language  1875 .Harvard. 

Not  any  college,  of  course,  actually  requires  of  every  candi- 
date for  entrance  all  the  subjects  included  in  the  table.  A 

*  At  Leland  Stanford,  Jr.,  University  even  industrial  subjects,, 
such  as  wood-working,  forge-work,  foundry-work,  and  machine-shop 
work,  were  accepted  last  year  in  part  fulfillment  of  the  requirements 
for  admission  to  the  A.  B.  course. 

These  dates  have  been  determined  from  statements  in  the  laws  and 
catalogues  of  the  colleges  mentioned.  They  may  not  indicate  the 
actual  first  appearance  of  each  subject  as  an  admission  requirement. 
They  show  when  the  movement  started  in  the  leading  colleges.  For 
instance,  we  know  that  composition  was  a  part  of  the  entrance  examina- 
tion in  English  grammar  in  some  colleges  before  the  year  1870.  The 
year  1870  the  rather  indicates  when  composition  became  a  separate 
subject,  and  received  special  attention. 


229]  DURING   THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY  65 

knowledge  of  arithmetic,  English  grammar,  and  descriptive 
geography  is  generally  presupposed;  and  these  subjects  no 
longer  stand  as  distinct  requirements  except  in  the  case  of  a 
few  of  the  smaller  colleges.  With  the  growth  of  the  elective 
system  considerable  flexibility  in  admission  requirements  has 
developed;  so  that  in  nearly  all  the  larger  colleges  absolute 
prescription  is  no  longer  in  vogue.  This  phase  of  the  subject, 
however,  will  be  discussed  at  length  in  a  subsequent  chapter. 

Besides  the  addition  of  new  subjects,  during  the  last  thirty 
years  there  have  been  constant  changes  in  the  original  admis- 
sion subjects.  In  Latin  and  Greek  new  authors  have  been 
substituted  for  the  original  ones,  and  the  range  of  classical  lit- 
erature offered  the  candidate  is  wider.  In  both  the  classics  and 
in  mathematics  there  have  been  changes  in  the  amount  re- 
quired for  admission  to  college,  as  well  as  in  the  character  of 
the  requisition.  In  1870  we  found  that  the  classical  authors 
commonly  required  were,  in  Latin,  Virgil — the  ^Eneid, 
Eclogues,  and  Georgics ;  Cicero — selected  orations ;  Caesar — the 
Commentaries  on  the  Gallic  War;  Sallust — Catiline's  Con- 
spiracy and  the  Jugurthine  War,  and  the  Viri  Romae ;  in  Greek, 
a  reader — Felton,  Bullion,  Jacobs,  etc.;  Xenophon — the  An- 
abasis and  Cyropedia,  and  Homer.  Since  1870  the  standard 
authors  have  still  been,  in  Latin  — Caesar,  Cicero,  and  Virgil , 
and  in  Greek — the  Anabasis,  and  Homer.  Other  authors,  how- 
ever, have  appeared  from  time  to  time  in  addition  to  these  or  as 
a  substitute  for  parts  of  them.  Ovid's  Metamorphoses,  which 
seems  to  have  been  required  for  the  first  time  by  Princeton  in 
1819,  during  the  last  thirty  years  has  become  commonly  ac- 
cepted in  lieu  of  a  part  of  Virgil.  In  1882  Yale  substituted  2500 
lines  of  Ovid  for  the  Georgics;  and  Michigan  in  1883  accepted 
1 200  lines  of  Ovid  for  the  last  two  books  of  the  ^Eneid ;  Prince- 
ton in  1894  made  2500  lines  of  the  Metamorphoses  part  of  the 
requirement  in  Latin  poetry ;  other  colleges  have  made  a  similar 
substitution  of  a  certain  amount  of  Ovid,  usually  for  some  por- 
tion of  Virgil.  The  requirement  in  Ovid  has  commonly 
amounted  to  2500  verses,  and  Virgil  has  been  correspondingly 
reduced  to  six  books  of  the  /Eneid  and  the  Eclogues.  In  a  like 


64  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [230 

manner  parts  of  Sallust,  usually  the  Catiline,  or  Jugurthine  War, 
or  both,  have  frequently  been  substituted  for  a  similar  amount 
of  Caesar.  Other  works  in  Latin  that  have  had  a  place  among 
admission  subjects  are  miscellaneous  collections,  like  Allen's 
Reader,  and  some  of  the  second-year  Latin  books  which  have 
been  accepted  for  Caesar  during  the  last  five  years ;  also  selec- 
tions from  Nepos,  Viri  Romae  and  from  minor  Latin  authors 
have  found  favor.  In  both  Latin  and  Greek  a  tendency  during 
the  last  thirty  years  has  been  to  extend  the  range  of  works 
from  which  the  candidate  may  select,  rather  than  to  require  a 
stipulated  amount  in  certain  authors. 

Together  with  the  widening  of  the  range  of  authors  and  the 
consequent  flexibility  in  the  requirements  came  a  change  in  the 
character  of  the  requisition  in  the  classics.  In  1874  Harvard 
required  in  Latin  "  the  translation  at  sight  of  some  passage  in 
prose."  In  1881  both  Yale  and  Cornell  made  short  passages 
for  sight  translation  a  part  of  the  examination  in 
Latin.  Columbia  did  likewise  in  1891,  Princeton  in 
1894,  and  Michigan  in  1895.  In  1878,  after  a  com- 
plete revision  of  admission  requirements,  Harvard  per- 
mitted the  candidate  to  take  an  examination  in  "  the  transla- 
tion at  sight  of  easy  passages  of  Xenophon  "  (suited  to  the 
proficiency  of  those  who  had  read  four  books  of  the  Anabasis), 
instead  of  requiring  him  to  read  a  specified  amount  in  any 
author;  and  in  1887,  after  another  complete  revision  of  the 
regulations  for  admission,  the  elementary  examination  in  Greek 
consisted  simply  in  "  the  translation  at  sight  of  simple  Attic 
prose  (with  questions  on  the  usual  forms  and  ordinary  con- 
structions of  the  language),"  and  in  Latin,  "the  translation 
at  sight  of  simple  prose  (with  questions  as  in  Greek)."  A 
common  practice  among  leading  colleges  now  is  to  indicate  in 
the  catalogue  some  passage  on  which  candidates  will  be  given 
a  very  searching  test  (say,  the  first  and  second  books  of  the 
Anabasis),  and  then  to  examine  the  candidate's  ability  to  trans- 
late at  sight  ordinary  classical  prose.  The  amount  which  it  is 
desirable  for  the  student  in  the  preparatory  school  to  read  is 


23 1  ]  DURING   THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY  65 

usually  indicated.30  The  reason  for  this  change  of  method  is 
tersely  stated  in  the  catalogue  of  the  University  of  Michigan : 
"  It  should  be  remembered  that  the  university  desires  mastery 
of  Latin;  the  choice  of  selections  studied  is  of  secondary  im- 
portance."34 These  two  tendencies  which  have  just  been  dis- 
cussed— the  extension  in  the  range  of  authors,  and  the  grow-  ,/ 
ing  emphasis  on  sight  translation — have  revolutionized  both 
the  aim  and  methods  of  the  teaching  of  classics  in  the  prepara- 
tory school.  The  aim  means  a  mastery  of  the  subject,  and  this 
calls  for  a  wider  and  more  varied  range  of  reading,  better 
teaching,  and  effectually  defeats  the  old-time  custom  of  cram- 
ming up  for  the  entrance  examination. 

The  changes  in  the  classical  authors  since  1870,  as  well  as . 
the  revolution  in  methods  of  admission,  have  rendered  theS 
quantitative  element  in  the  original  subjects  both  a  less  impor-  / 
tant  factor  and  one  very  difficult  to  determine.  In  general 
it  may  be  said  that,  in  the  case  of  colleges  which  still  require 
both  Latin  and  Greek  for  admission,  the  amount  of  the  re- 
quirement in  those  languages  has  increased  slightly.  Few  of 
the  leading  colleges  any  longer  prescribe  a  definite  amount  of 
Latin  and  Greek.  It  is  customary  to  prescribe  a  definite  por- 
tion of  certain  authors  to  be  studied  minutely  and  to  indicate 
the  amount  of  reading  in  addition  (say,  130  pages)  that  a 
student  should  do  in  order  to  pass  the  sight  translation.  To 
compute  the  average  amount  of  Latin  and  Greek  required  by 
colleges  in  1870  and  again  in  1900,  and  to  arrive  at  a  comparison 
that  would  be  strictly  accurate  mathematically,  is  a  very  com- 
plicated task.  It  has  been  deemed  sufficiently  accurate  for 
our  purposes,  however,  to  calculate  the  amount  in  the  classics 
required  for  admission  to  eight  prominent  colleges  with  the 
ordinary  text-book  page  as  the  unit.  The  results  are  approxi- 
mately these :  The  amount  of  Latin  which  a  student  must, 

33.  At   Columbia  and  Cornell   130  pages  of  standard  prose,  and  at 
Harvard  from  130  to  170  pages,  is  the  amount  suggested  to  the  candidate 
preparing  to  pass  the  Greek  examination. 

34.  Calendar  of  the  University  of  Michigan  (p.  41)  for  1894-95,  and 
subsequent  issues. 


66 


COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS 


[232 


on  the  average,  read  for  entrance  to  college  in  1900  is  a  trifle 
less  than  that  in  1870;  the  amount  of  Greek  is  somewhat  more; 
the  amount  in  the  classics,  provided  a  candidate  offers  both 
subjects,  has  remained  nearly  constant.  In  view  of  the  fact, 
however,  that  the  examination  in  the  classics  is  of  a  different 
character  from  that  in  1870,  the  student  preparing  for  college 
to-day  probably  reads  more  Latin  and  Greek  than  did  the  stu- 
dent thirty  years  ago.  In  the  note  below  a  table  appears 
showing  some  interesting  statistics  in  support  of  this  state- 
ment. The  number  of  pages  in  every  case  has  been  computed 
from  the  quantitative  statements  in  the  various  catalogues. 
The  text-books  actually  used  in  1870  by  the  students  prepar- 
ing for  college  are  taken  as  the  basis.34 

Other  admission  subjects  commonly  required  thirty  years 
ago  were  mathematics  and  history.  The  advance  in  these 
subjects  has  been  very  conspicuous  and  significant.  An  ex- 
amination of  the  catalogues  of  eleven  representative  colleges 
for  1870  reveals  the  fact  that  only  two  of  the  institutions 


34. 


TABLE  V. 


TABLE  SHOWING  THE  AVERAGE  AMOUNT  OF  LATIN  AND  GREEK  REQUIRED 
FOR  ADMISSION  TO  COLLEGE  IN  1870  AND  IN  1900. 

AMT.     OF  LATIN  AND  GREEK   IN  1900. 
LATIN  GREEK 

Yale    391  pp.  193  PP. 

Princeton   331    "  193    ' 

Columbia    391    "  188   " 

Cornell    350    "  188    ' 

Michigan .304    "  143    ' 

Brown    319    "  193    " 

Williams   339    "  193    " 

California    252    "  193    " 


AMT.     OF  LATIN  AND  GREEK  IN   1870. 

LATIN  GREEK 

Yale 329  pp.  216  pp. 

Princeton   356    "  252    " 

Columbia 455    "  176   " 

Cornell    465    "  no   " 

Michigan    253    "  85    " 

Brown    465    "  118   " 

Williams   395    "  142    " 

California    253    "  85    " 

Total    2971    "  1184   " 

Average    371    "  148   " 

In  both  languages  519    " 


Total    2678    "     1484 

Average    335    "      185 

In  both  languages 520 


Approximately  the  same  results  are  secured  by  the  following  table. 
These  statistics  were  collected  by  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Educa- 


233] 


DURING  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY 


67 


required  algebra  beyond  quadratic  equations;  but  algebra  to 
quadratics  was  the  usual  requirement.35  In  1900  all  the  eleven 
colleges  required  algebra  at  least  through  quadratic  equations. 
In  1870  only  two  of  the  colleges  required  all  of  plane  geometry, 
while  in  1900  all  required  plane  geometry  and  several,  more 
in  addition.  Only  five  of  these  colleges  required  any  history 
for  admission  in  1870,  while  all  require  considerable  of  history 
in  1900.  Again,  thirty  years  ago  only  three  of  the  col- 
leges required  anything  beyond  a  very  meager  amount  of 

tion  in  1897  from  nearly  500  colleges.  Books  have  been  converted  into 
pages. 


COLLEGES  REQUIR- 
ING OESAR 

CICERO 

VIRGIL 

8 

(0 

C 

o 

te 

1 

<* 

•O 

rt 

•O 

O 

o 

« 

Jo 

% 

V 

S 

(0 

M 

BO 

W 

S 

.0 

o 

R 

••->  O 

!     & 

c 

C 

C 

O 

C 

u 

h 

0 

x 

rt) 

tfl 

O 

C  O. 

g 

o 

o 

0 

0 

o 

09 

<l> 

0 

(A 

(O 

00 

09 

« 

8 

0 

i  a 

s 

1 

tj 

Is 

"S 

4J 

M 

5 

M 

^t 
o 

"o 

O 

o 

0 

| 

ro 

M 

s 

So 

^ 
i  o 

g 

3 

•* 

« 

s 

E 

o 

3 

1 

o 

NO 

1 

| 

! 

| 

180 

27 

19 

8 

140 

117 

23 

36 

8 

9 

3 

8 

84 

I36 

9 

22 

14 

9 

2 

65 

4  or  more  books, 
the  ordinary  amount 

6  or  more  orations, 
the  ordinary  amount 

6  or  more  books,  the  ordinary 
amount.      Average    amount 
of  Latin  in  pages,  320-!- 

COLLEGES  REQUIR- 
ING ANABASIS 

ILIAD 

1 

•O 

V 

•O 
V 

4  or  more  books,  the  ordinary  amount  in  An- 
abasis 

O 

U3 

in 

'3 

4) 

* 

X 

1 

3  books,  the  ordinary  amount  in  Iliad 

i 

0 

O 

O 

& 

& 

1 

m 

I 

O 

O 

,0 

1 

Average  amount  of  Greek  in  pages,  iQ3+ 

98 

56 

25 

23 

84 

99 

21 

I 

32 

By  the  first  table  the  average  amount  of  classics  required  in  1900  was 
520  pages.  By  the  second  table  (including  a  large  number  of  cases  in 
1897)  the  average  amount  was  513  pages;  probably  more  than  513  pages 
would  be  correct  in  this  computation. 

35.  Harvard,  Yale,  Princeton,  Columbia,  Michigan,  Cornell,  Brown, 
Williams,  Syracuse,  Oberlin,  California. 


68 


COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS 


034 


Greek  and  Roman  history,  but  now  Greek,  Roman,  United 
States,  English,  general  history,  and  civil  government  are 
represented. 

During  the  last  thirty  years  the  tendencies  in  the  develop- 
ment of  college  admission  requirements  that  were  prominent 
up  to  1870  have  continued.  The  addition  of  new  subjects  has 
widened  the  range  of  entrance  requirements.  The  amount 
required  in  the  original  subjects  has  increased.  In  mathe- 
matics, history,  English,  and  science  the  advance  has  been  con- 
siderable, while  even  the  classical  requirement  has  increased 
slightly.  Colleges  which  still  require  both  Latin  and  Greek 
for  admission  not  only  require  more  in  these  languages,  but 
considerably  more  in  mathematics,  history,  and  English,  as 
well  as  a  modern  language  and,  perhaps,  some  branch  of 
science.  This  continued  advance  in  entrance  requirements  is 
due,  of  course,  in  general,  to  the  rapid  development  of  higher 
education  and  the  constant  broadening  of  the  field  of  knowl- 
edge; but  what  has  influenced  admission  requirements  most 
has  been  the  gradual  transformation  of  the  American  college 
into  the  American  university.  In  order  to  meet  the  demand 
for  advanced  study  and  research  the  college  has  constantly 
pushed  the  work  of  a  distinctly  secondary  character  into  the 
preparatory  school.  This  movement  has  been  accelerated  also 
by  the  increased  popular  demand  for  advanced  studies  in  what  is 
sometimes  called  the  "  people's  college,"  the  public  high  school ; 
for  that  institution  is  at  home,  is  easily  accessible,  and  is  free. 
A  third  tendency,  which  belongs  more  strictly  to  the  method 
of  the  entrance  examination  than  to  the  subjects,  is  that  ex- 
aminations are  becoming  tests  of  power  rather  than  of  the 
mere  acquisition  of  facts.  Instances  of  this  tendency  are  the 
emphasis  placed  on  sight  translation  in  the  language  exami- 
nations, the  growing  importance  of  English  composition,  of 
the  solution  of  original  problems  in  geometry,  and  of  inde- 
pendent experimental  work  in  science.36  As  the  result  of  this 

36.  Original  problems  in  geometry  and  experimental  work  in  science 
are  part  of  the  examination  for  admission  to  Harvard,  Yale,  Columbia, 
Cornell,  Leland  Stanford,  and  several  other  leading  colleges. 


235]  DURING   THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY  69 

latter  tendency  in  college  admission  requirements  there  has 
been  a  significant  revolution  in  preparatory  school  methods 
of  teaching,  a  shifting  of  the  emphasis  from  stultifying  me- 
moriter  work  to  that  more  quickening  sort  which  calls  for  in- 
dependent thought  and  constructive  ability.  In  the  teaching 
of  foreign  languages  the  actual  use  of  the  language  and  wide 
reading  in  its  literature  have  supplanted  much  of  the  old-time 
exhaustive  study  of  formal  grammar ;  and  the  study  of  science 
has  moved  from  the  library  to  the  laboratory. 


CJ 


PART  II 

COLLEGE     ADMISSION     REQUIREMENTS     AS 
A  PROBLEM   IN   EDUCATIONAL  ADMINIS- 
TRATION 

INTRODUCTION 

HAD  the  American  college  remained  substantially  as  we 
found  it  at  the  opening  of  the  nineteenth  century,  had  the  pre- 
paratory school  continued  to  be  the  Latin-school  of  the  colonial 
period,  the  articulation  between  secondary  and  higher  education 
in  the  United  States  would  probably  never  have  caused  any 
difficulty;  in  short,  college  admission  requirements  would 
never  have  become  a  serious  and  perplexing  problem.  The 
economic  advancement  which  followed  the  establishment  of 
independence,  and  the  subsequent  opening  up  of  the  great  West, 
made  imperative  a  broader,  more  elastic  and  more  practical  sort 
of  education  than  the  colonial  college  had  been  accustomed  to 
furnish.  There  was  a  call  naturally  for  men  trained  to  meet 
the  problems  incident  on  the  development  of  the  resources  of  a 
virgin  country.  This  object,  however,  was  not  comprehended 
in  the  original  aim  and  narrow  curriculum  of  the  college ;  and 
there  is  plenty  of  evidence  which  indicates  dissatisfaction  with 
the  then  prevailing  college  course,  as  well  as  a  strenuous  de- 
mand for  something  more  practical.  Mr.  Kingsley  described 
the  general  feeling  as  follows :  "  So  great  was  this  clamor,  and 
such  was  the  state  of  feeling  developed  in  many  sections  of  the 
country,  that  some  of  the  younger  and  weaker  institutions  of 
learning  were  yielding  to  the  pressure  brought  to  bear  upon 
them,  and  making  the  changes  which  were  so  loudly  de- 
manded." 1  Most  of  the  older  colleges,  however,  for  a  long 

i   (a).  Kingsley,  W.  L.,  Yale  College,  A  Sketch  of  Its  History,  I.,  133. 

i    (&).  In   1826-27  there  was  a  serious  opposition  to  the  study  of 

"  dead  languages  "  voiced  by  the  newspapers  of  the  day  and  by  many 


72  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [23$ 

time  remained  conservative  and  held  tenaciously  to  the  cur- 
riculum of  tradition.  There  was,  consequently,  a  gradual  and 
marked  decrease  in  the  number  of  college  students  during  the 
second  and  third  quarters  of  the  nineteenth  century;2  and,  on 
the  other  hand,  academies,  and  a  new  sort  of  institution,  public 
high  schools,  flourished,  because  they  met  "  the  practical  wants 
of  the  times."  3  The  high  school  had  the  additional  advantage 
of  being  free,  at  home,  and  under  complete  public  control. 

The  growth  of  public  high  schools  has  been  one  of  the 
remarkable  features  in  the  development  of  education  in  the 
United  States  during  the  nineteenth  century.  The  Boston 
English  High  School  was  established  as  an  experiment  in  1821 ; 
Philadelphia  followed  with  a  high  school  in  1838,  Providence  in 
1843,  and  Hartford  in  1847.*  By  1860,  according  to  Dr. 
Harris,  there  were  about  forty  high  schools  in  the 
country,  in  1870  four  times  as  many,  and  ^nearly  800 
in  i88o.5  The  high  school  gradually  usurped  the  general 
character  of  the  academy,  leaving  the  latter  more  strictly  a 

so-called  educational  reformers.  Demands  were  made  that  the  course 
of  studies  be  altered  to  suit  the  "  practical  wants  of  the  times5."  Yale 
College  yielded  to  popular  demand  so  far  only  as  to  submit  the  matter 
of  dispensing  with  the  classics  to  a  committee  consisting  of  Governor 
Tomlinson,  President  Day,  Dr.  Chapin,  Hon.  Noyes  Darling,  and  Rev. 
Abel  McEwen.  The  committee  reported  to  the  Corporation  in  Septem- 
ber, 1828,  that  no  change  was  expedient.  Baldwin,  Annals  of  Yale 
College,  p.  1 68  et  seq. 

2.  President  Barnard,  of  Columbia,  presented  in  his  report  for  1870 
statistics  which  showed  that  the  proportion  of  college  students  in  the 
United  States  to  the  whole  white  population  had  decreased  constantly 
for  thirty  years:  1:1549  to  1:2546 — Annual  Report  of  the  President  of 
Columbia  College,  1870,  p.  58. 

3.  Academies  "  differ  from  the  colleges  in  permitting  to  their  pupils 
the  largest  freedom  of  choice  in  the  selection  of  their  studies,  and  in 
limiting  attendance  to  no  determined  period  of  years  .  .  .  have  all  the 
characteristics  of  the  ordinary  college,  with  the  elective  system  added." 
— American  Journal  of  Education,  22,  444. 

4.  Brown,   E.   E.,   Secondary   Education,   Monograph   No.   4,   18,   in 
Education  in  the  United  States,  I. 

5.  Harris,  W.  T.,  Proceedings  of  the  National  Educational  Associa- 
tion, 1901,  174. 


239]  INTRODUCTION  n 

preparatory  school.  "  The  earliest  high  schools  were  intended 
specifically  for  those  who  were  not  preparing  for  college.  But 
there  soon  appeared  a  disposition  on  the  part  of  the  public 
school  authorities  to  close  up  this  gap.  Studies  regarded  as 
distinctly  preparatory  to  college  were  from  time  to  time  intro- 
duced into  high  school  courses." 6  Consequently  the  high 
school  came  to  have  a  twofold  aim — to  prepare  for  college 
and  to  prepare  immediately  for  practical  life.  The  two  aims 
could  not  harmonize  because  of  the  peculiar  requirements  of 
the  college.  The  American  college  was  as  yet  but  a  mediseval 
institution,  emphasizing,  for  the  most  part,  formal  studies  and 
theory.  As  we  have  shown  above,  the  college  needed 
students;  but  as  their  old-fashioned  entrance  gate  was  so 
narrow,  only  a  very  small  percentage  of  high-school  graduates 
could  squeeze  through.  And— ow  historical  discussion  has 

clearly  demonstrated  that  admission  requirements,  both  in  the 

/       r      ,-  i  .  ,   i_  -;    '         4  &&&-   </**+*J&+ 

number  of  subjects  and  in  amount,  have  constaniljLlinffieaseTL 

The  bridge  from  the  public  high  school  to  the  college  became 
more  and  more  difficult  to  cross,  so  long,  at  any  rate,  as  the 
colleges  adhered  to  their  stringent  and  inflexible  requirements 
for  admission.  Consequently  there  was  a  well-nigh  insuperable 
gap  between  a  large  element  in  the  high  school  and  the  col-  / 
lege.  To  bridge  this  gap  has  been  the  problem  with  which 
the  college  has  had  to  wrestle  for  the  last  fifty  years.  In  fact, 
the  salvation  of  both  the  colleges  and  the  schools  depends  on  a 
close  aritiMa^ion  between  the  two  systems.  ^Li^Q 

The  attempts  at  adjustment  fall  under  three  general  types, 
and,  accordingly,  the  problem  will  be  discussed  under  three 
heads;  these  may  be  regarded  as  corollaries  to  the  main 
problem :  I.  Attempts  to  secure  flexibility  in  admission  re- 
quirements. II.  Different  methods  of  admission.  III.  At- 
tempts to  secure  uniformity. 

6.  Brown,  E.  E.,  Monograph  on  secondary  education,  22.  : 


74  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [240 


CHAPTER  III 

FLEXIBILITY    IN    ADMISSION    REQUIREMENTS. 

BEFORE  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  there  was 
almost  inflexibility  in  the  college  course.  By  the  middle  of 
the  century,  however,  the  general  demand  for  more  studies 
of  a  practical  nature,  and  the  constant  extension  of  the  field 
of  knowledge,  particularly  in  the  realm  of  science,  made  some 
degree  of  elasticity  imperative.  Consequently  the  elective 
system  developed  rapidly,  especially  in  the  larger  and  more 
prosperous  colleges ; *  but,  like  nearly  all  educational  reforms, 
it  grew  from  the  top  downward,  and  became  firmly  established 
only  in  the  last  two  or  three  years  of  the  college  course.  The 
elective  system  in  the  college,  therefore,  at  first  influenced  ad- 
mission requirements  but  slightly.  The  influence  came  from 
another  source,  and  that  was  upward  from  the  high  schools 
and  academies. 

When  high  schools  began  to  assume  the  function  of  pre- 
paratory schools  two  fairly  distinct  courses  developed — the 
one,  the  regular  classical-preparatory  course,  and  the  other, 
a  non-classical,  Latin-scientific,  Latin-English  or  English 
course.  The  task  of  the  colleges  was  to  provide  means  of 
ingress  for  graduates  of  this  latter  course,  as  well  as  for  others 
who,  being  privately  or  irregularly  prepared,  had  not  enjoyed 

i.  The  following  elective  studies  were  offered  in  Harvard  University 
in  1841 : 

Sophomore  year — Mathematics,  Greek,  Latin,  natural  history,  civil 
history,  chemistry,  geology,  geography,  the  use  of  the  globes,  and  any 
modern  language. 

Junior  year — The  same  as  those  of  the  Sophomore  year  and  a  more 
extended  course  in  psychology  and  ethics. 

Senior  year — Political  ethics,  a  more  extended  course  in  physics,  and 
any  of  the  elective  studies  above. 

— Report  of  the  President  of  Harvard  College,  1883-84.    p.  13. 


-24i]  FLEXIBILITY  IN  REQUIREMENTS  75 

the  privilege  of  a  complete  preparation  in  Latin  and  Greek. 
This  they  have  done  in  three  ways,  and  in  the  following  his- 
torical order :  ( I )  by  throwing  open  certain  courses  to  special 
students  qualified  to  pursue  them ;  (2)  by  forming  two  or  more 
distinct  courses  with  as  many  degrees;  (3)  by  allowing  liberal 
option  in  the  requirements  for  admission  to  the  A.  B.  course. 
So-called  "  special  courses  "  were  introduced  very  early  in  some 
of  the  larger  colleges ;  and  they  have  always  proved  of  genuine 
service  to  earnest  young  men  and  a  hindrance  to  others.2 

The  earliest  instance  of  a  college  course  distinct  from  the 
regular  classical  course  was  at  Columbia  in  i83O.3  Its  institu- 
tion was  a  definite  attempt  to  meet  the  popular  demand  for  a 
higher  practical  education.  As  the  statutory  enactment  says, 
the  course  was  established  with  a  "  view  of  rendering  the 
benefits  of  education  more  generally  accessible  to  the  com- 
munity." 4  This  course  was  termed  the  Scientific  and  Literary 
Course.  It  comprised  three  years  of  study,  and  a  testimonial 
was  given  to  students  on  the  completion  of  it.  The  require- 
ments for  admission  were  as  follows :  "  No  student  shall  be 
admitted  into  the  lowest  class  of  the  literary  and  scientific 
course  without  a  grammatical  knowledge  of  the  French 
language,  to  be  manifested  by  translations  from  Voltaire's 
Histcire  de  Charles  XII. ,  or  Bossuet's  Discours  sur  VHistoire 
Universelle,and  by  his  ability  to  write  the  exercises  in  Levizac's 
Grammar,  nor  without  the  mathematical  and  geographical 
knowledge  required  for  admission  into  the  Freshman  class."  5 

2.  As  early  as  1826  Harvard  College  threw  open  certain  courses  of 
study  to  special  and  irregularly  prepared  students. — Catalogue,   1825- 
26,  p.  20. 

3.  Reference  has  been  made  to  this  course  before.     See  note  7,  on 

page  43- 

4.  The  advocates  of  the  new  course  affirmed  that  the  colleges  were 
"  chiefly   designed   to   prepare   young   men   for   what   are  termed  the 
learned  professions,"  and  were  unsuited  to  supply  the  want  "  through- 
out the  country  of  some  more  general,  more  liberal,  more  practical 
instruction  than  could  at  present  be  attained."— Moore,  An  Historical 
Sketch  of  Columbia  College,  pp.  90-91. 

5.  Statutes  of  Columbia  College,  1836. 


76  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [24* 

This  course  was  never  very  popular,  and  it  was  discontinued 
in  1843.  "  There  was  not  a  single  student  engaged  in  it  at 
this  time,  and  during  the  last  two  years  there  had  been,  in  all, 
but  four."  6  The  fact  was,  it  came  about  two  decades  too 
soon. 

A  scientific  course  was  also  established  at  Union  College  in 
1833  under  President  Nott,  one  of  the  earliest  advocates  of 
the  elective  system.  Until  1853  this  course  was  the  same  as 
the  classical  course  until  the  end  of  the  freshman  year,  and 
there  was  but  one  set  of  requirements  for  admission — Latin, 
Greek,  Mathematics,  etc.  In  1854,  however,  the  two  courses 
were  differentiated  from  the  beginning  of  the  freshman  year. 
The  candidate  for  admission  to  the  scientific  course  had  to 
"  be  thoroughly  prepared  in  English  Grammar  and  the  other 
usual  elementary  studies,  and  be  quite  familiar  with  practical 
arithmetic,  as  found  in  Davies'  '  University/  or  its  full  equiv- 
alent."7 The  instances  just  discussed  are  two  of  the  earlier 
attempts  made  by  colleges  to  bring  their  resources  within  the 
reach  of  students  who  had  not  enjoyed  the  full  classical 
preparation. 

The  tendency  to  form  parallel  semi-classical  courses  became 
general  during  the  two  decades  between  1850  and  1870.  The 
following  table  shows  when  ten  of  the  leading  colleges  in  the 
United  States  established  courses  other  than  the  classical,  and 
the  degrees  which  accompanied  them.  The  dates  indicate 
when  degrees  were  affixed  to  these  courses.  In  several  colleges, 
for  instance,  Harvard,  Yale,  Brown,  the  courses  were  estab- 
lished several  years  before  the  degrees  were  added. 

The  following  table  will  show  that,  whereas,  before  1850  there 
was  practically  one  degree  and  one  course  in  our  colleges,  and 
one  gate  into  them,  within  two  decades  most  of  the  leading 
colleges  in  the  United  States  carried  at  least  two  distinct  courses 
and  had  two  or  more  avenues  of  approach. 

6.  Moore,  Historical  Sketch  of  Columbia  College,  p.  101. 

7.  Catalogue  of  Union  College,  1854. 


243  J  FLEXIBILITY  IN  REQUIREMENTS  77 

TABLE  VI. 
TABLE   SHOWING  WHERE  PARALLEL   COURSES  DEVELOPED. 

COLLEGE.  DATE.  DEGREE. 

Brown   1851 Ph.  B. 

Harvard  * 1851 B.  S. 

Yale  f 1852 Ph.  B. 

Dartmouth   1852 B.  S. 

Rochester   1852 B.  S. 

Michigan 1853 B.  S. 

Columbia 1864 Ph.  B. 

Amherst 1872 Ph.  B.,  B  .S. 

Cornell  J 1868 B.  S. 

Princeton  1873 B.  S. 

*  Lawrence  Scientific  School, 
t  Sheffield  Scientific  School. 
J  At  opening  of  the  College. 

At  first  the  only  distinction  between  courses  was  that  be- 
tween the  classical  course,  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  not-classi- 
cal course  on  the  other.  Distinctions  soon  multiplied  rapidly, 
however,  and  different  titles  and  degrees  were  affixed  to  courses 
which  in  point  of  fact  were  differentiated  but  slightly.  In  1880 
the  University  of  Michigan  maintained  five  distinct  courses — 
A.  B.,  Ph.  B.,  B.  S.,  B.  L.,  and  C  E.  In  1875  Cornell  offered 
nine  different  courses  leading  to  degrees,  four  general  and  five 
technical.  By  1890,  however,  most  colleges  offered  about  three 
fairly  distinct  courses  :  ( i )  A  full  classical  course  leading-  to 
the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts,  (2)  a  semi-classical  course  lead- 
ing to  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Philosophy  or  of  Letters,  and 
(3)  a  more  strictly  scientific  course  with  the  degree  of  Bache- 
lor of  Science.  We  are  especially  concerned  with  these. 

The  requirements  for  admission  to  the  non-classical  courses 
have  fluctuated  and  varied  quite  as  much  as  in  the  case  of  the 
full  classical  course.  It  would  be  an  endless  task  to  follow 
out  all  the  changes  that  have  occurred  in  the  different  colleges 
in  the  requirements  for  admission  to  these  various  courses 
during  the  last  half  century.  Certain  distinct  types  will  be  con- 
sidered. 

The  Ph.  B.  course  has  not  always  meant  the  same  in  all  col- 


78  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [244. 

leges.  For  instance,  in  Columbia  and  Yale  it  was  at  first  the 
strictly  scientific  course;8  while  at  Brown,  Cornell,  and  Michi- 
gan it  has  always  been  a  semi-classical  or  general  course.  Since 
we  are  interested  primarily  in  the  effects  of  college  admission 
requirements  on  secondary  schools,  we  shall  not  discuss  the 
contents  of  these  courses,  but  shall  confine  our  comparison  of 
them  to  their  respective  entrance  conditions. 

Our  point  of  view  is  that  of  the  preparatory  school.  What 
the  Ph.  B.  course  means  to  the  secondary  schools  can  be  repre- 
sented best  by  the  subjoined  comparative  table  of  require- 
ments for  admission.  The  statistics  are  from  the  catalogues  of 
the  colleges  for  1899-1900. 

This  table  illustrates  the  woeful  lack  of  uniformity  in  the 
entrance  requirements  for  the  Ph.  B.  course.  These  five  institu- 
tions are  together  only  in  that  each  requires  some  language, 
mathematics,  history,  English,  and  no  Greek.  Further,  there 
is  nothing  but  perplexing  diversity  in  the  entrance  conditions. 
Brown  requires  no  science,  arithmetic  is  mentioned  by  two, 
triginometry  by  one,  and  there  are  all  varieties  of  science.  In  the 
subjects  which  all  five  colleges  require — language,  mathe- 
matics, history,  and  English — there  is  a  wide  variation  in 
amount.  The  more  colleges  we  consider  the  greater  we  find 
this  diversity  in  the  entrance  requirements  for  the  Ph.  B.  course. 
This  lack  of  uniformity  is  of  course  due  to  the  fact  that 
there  has  never  been  any  agreement  on  the  part  of  colleges  as 
to  what  the  Ph.  B.  degree  should  stand  for.  It  has  always 
mearit  something  different  from  A.  B. ;  but  that  difference  has 
ranged  all  the  way  from  a  course  of  study  differing  from  the 
classical  course  only  in  the  omission  of  Greek  to  an  almost 
purely  scientific  and  technical  course.  This  indefiniteness  has 
always  made  the  philosophical  course  of  a  very  uncertain  and 
fluctuating  character,  has  brought  it  into  disrepute  in  many 
places,  and  has  increased  the  difficulties  for  preparatory 
schools. 

8.  At  Columbia  it  was  the  course  in  the  School  of  Mines  until  1893. 
At  Yale  Ph.  B.  is  still  the  degree  of  the  general  course  of  the 
Sheffield  'Scientific  School. 


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Two  other  courses  designed  to  meet  the  needs  of  students 
who  had  not  enjoyed  a  complete  preparation  in  the  classics 
are  the  Bachelor  of  Letters  course  (B.  L.)  and  the  Bachelor 
of  Science  (B.  S.)  course  (general).  These  courses  were 
doubtless  intended  primarily  for  graduates  of  the  so-called 
English  course  of  the  high  school.9  Again,  colleges  have 
agreed  no  better  as  to  what  these  degrees  should  represent 
than  in  the  case  of  the  Ph.  B. 

A  course  of  study  leading  to  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of 
Literature  was  instituted  at  Cornell  in  1871.  This  course  dif- 
fered little  from  the  Ph.  B.  course  which  had  been  maintained 
since  the  founding  of  the  university.  The  Cornell  Register  for 
1868-69  described  the  Ph.  B.  course  in  the  following  words : 
"  It  differs  from  the  Course  in  Science  in  comprising  a  some- 
what smaller  amount  of  scientific  studies ;  on  the  other  hand,  it 
differs  from  the  Course  in  Arts  in  omitting  the  Greek  lan- 
guage, the  modern  languages  being  substituted  in  its  place." 
The  B.  L.  course,  which,  in  fact,  supplanted  the  Ph.  B.  course 
from  1871  to  1875,  is  described  in  the  Cornell  Register  for 
1872-73  in  the  following  statement :  "  It  differs  from  the 
Course  in  Science  in  comprising  something  less  in  scientific 
subjects  and  mathematics,  and  is  characterized  by  a  larger 
amount  of  attention  to  the  Modern  Languages  and  General 
Literature."  The  requirements  for  admission  to  the  course 
in  Literature  in  1872-73,  also,  were  the  same  as  those  for  the 
Course  in  Philosophy  in  1868-69;  that  is,  the  same  entrance 
terms  as  for  the  classical  course,  with  the  exception  of  Greek. 
In  1874-75  the  Course  in  Philosophy  was  revived  with  the  fol- 
lowing description :  "  This  is  designed  to  be  a  scientific  course 
of  a  higher  grade  than  the  preceding  (B.  S.  course)."  The  re- 
quirements for  admission,  however,  were  the  same  as  for  the 
B.  L.  course.  In  1885  another  change  was  made.  The  degree 

9.  The  prefatory  note  to  the  Calendar  of  the  University  of  Michigan 
for  1878-79  has  the  following  statement :  "  Provision  is  made  for  ad- 
mitting students  who  have  completed  the  so-called  English  course  of 
our  Michigan  High  Schools,  or  one  of  equal  value,  to  studies  which 
lead  to  the  attainment  of  Bachelor  of  Letters." 


.247J 


FLEXIBILITY  IN  REQUIREMENTS 


of  B.  L.  was  called  Bachelor  of  Letters,  rather  than  Bachelor 
of  Literature,  and  the  requirements  for  admission  were  the 
-same  as  for  the  B.  S.  course.10  In  place  of  Latin  one  of  the 
following  subjects  might  be  offered :  French,  German,  or  ad- 
vanced mathematics;  in  1890  two  of  these  subjects  were  re- 
quired, and  in  1893  Latin — four  books  of  Caesar,  or  an 
equivalent,  and  grammar — was  added  to  this  list.  For  the 
Ph.  B.  course,  however,  Latin  was  still  required  to  the  same  ex- 
tent as  for  the  classical  course.  The  following  table  will  show 
readily  how  the  four  general  courses  were  related  in  1889  as 
regards  admission  requirements.  Arithmetic,  geography, 
grammar,  physiology,  elementary  algebra,  and  plane  geom- 
etry were  required  of  all  for  any  course. 

TABLE  VIII. 

SHOWING    How    THE   FOUR     GENERAL    COURSES     AT     CORNELL    WERE 
RELATED  IN    1880. 


"R  "    MEANS 

REQUIRED 

A.  B. 

PH.  B. 

B.  S. 

B.  L. 

i.  Greek  

R 

2.   Latin  

R 

R 

3.  Greek  and  Roman 

History 

R 

R 

4.  French  

5.  German  

*f 

rf 

•* 

(  Higher  Alg.. 

0° 

V** 

0° 

6.  Advanced  Math... 

.  •<  Solid  Geom.  .  . 

•^  o 

&  o 

^  O 

(  Trigonometry 

3  " 

£  " 

W  \n 

*n 

tf> 

The  requirements  for  admission  to  the  four  courses  re- 
mained relatively  as  above  until  1896,  when  the  course  of  Let- 
ters (B.  L.)  was  discontinued.  Since  1897  one  degree,  A.  B., 

10.  The  distinction  between  the  B.  L.  and  B.  S.  courses  as  stated 
in  the  Register  for  1885-86  was  this :  "  Students  who,  after  completing 
the  first  two  years  of  the  course,  shall  devote  at  least  nine  hours  con- 
tinuously during  the  last  two  years  to  scientific  subjects,  will  receive 
the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Science,  and  those  who  shall  devote  at  least 
nine  hours  to  literary,  historical,  and  philosophical  subjects  will  receive 
the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Letters."  The  B.  S.  degree  was  also  given 
for  three  other  technical  courses  in  agriculture,  architecture  and 
chemistry. 


COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS 


[248 


has  been  given  to  all  the  general  academic  courses  at  Cornell, 
and  the  B.  S.  degree  has  become  strictly  technical. 

The  changes  which  the  character  of  the  B.  L.  as  well  as  the 
Ph.  B.  course  has  undergone  at  Cornell  during  the  last  thirty 
years  are  fairly  typical  of  the  uncertainty  and  indefiniteness 
which  have  always  been  attached  to  these  "  nondescript " 
degrees.  A  few  leading  colleges  which  have  ceased  to  require 
Greek  for  admission  to  the  classical  course  have  discontinued 
these  parallel  courses,  give  but  one  academic  degree,  A.  B.,  and 
offer  a  liberal  choice  in  entrance  terms.  Leland  Stanford,  Jr., 
University  has  never  given  but  one  degree.  Since  1890  the 
School  of  Arts  at  Columbia  has  had  only  the  A.  B.  Last  year 
Michigan  abolished  all  academic  degrees  except  the  A.  B. 

The  most  striking  thing  we  have  noticed  in  this  brief  dis- 
cussion of  alternate  courses  is  lack  of  definition  in  the 
courses  themselves,  on  the  one  hand,  and  almost  endless 
diversity  in  the  admission  requirements,  on  the  other.  The 
extent  of  this  diversity,  as  well  as  the  relation  between  the  four 
general  college  courses  as  it  stood  in  1897,  and  as  it  now  exists, 
in  the  main,  can  be  readily  seen  in  the  following  table.  The 
statistics  from  which  this  table  was  composed  were  collected 
by  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Education  and  appear  in  the 
report  of  the  Commission  of  Education,  1896-97,  Vol.  I.  The 
whole  number  of  institutions  reporting  was  475 . 

TABLE  IX. 

TABLE     OF     ADMISSION    REQUIREMENTS     FOR     THE     FOUR     GENERAL 

COURSES. 


NUMBER  OF 
INSTITU- 
TIONS 

Per  Cent,  of  Institutions  requiring 

LATIN                 GREEK 

A  MODERN 
LANGUAGE 

Bachelor  of 

Arts  

432 

93* 

73t* 

U* 

Bachelor  of 

Philosophy.  .  .  , 

123 

8i&* 

5t* 

41  1% 

Bachelor  of 

Letters       .    .  . 

98 

68^* 

2% 

3S^* 

Bachelor  of 

Science 

318 

55-!3<# 

*% 

3Sf* 

249]  FLEXIBILITY  IN  REQUIREMENTS  83 

The  distinction  between  the  A.  B.  course  and  the  other  three 
is  clear.  From  the  point  of  view  of  the  preparatory  schools, 
the  A.  B.  course  is  still  the  classical  course  par  excellence.  The 
line  of  demarkation  among  the  others,  however,  is  not  so  clear. 
The  majority  of  colleges  require  some  Latin  for  all  three 
courses.  In  respect  to  the  other  languages  the  difference  is 
inconsiderable.  In  many  colleges  the  entrance  requirements 
for  the  B.  S.  and  B.  L.  courses  are  identical.  In  some  insti- 
tutions the  B.  S.  degree  is  affixed  to  courses  strictly  technical — 
in  agriculture,  chemistry,  engineering,  etc.  Whatever  dif- 
ference there  is  between  the  B.  S.  and  B.  L.  courses  consists 
in  the  requirements  in  mathematics,  history  and  science.  After 
examining  the  catalogues  of  twenty  institutions  which  include 
both  courses  as  general  courses  we  have  found  the  following- 
facts  to  be  true :  ( I )  Fifteen  of  the  twenty  colleges  require 
more  science  for  entrance  to  the  B.  S.  course;  (2)  seven  re- 
quire more  mathematics;  while  (3)  six  require  more  history 
for  the  B.  L.  course.  In  general,  then,  the  points  of  distinc- 
tion, between  the  two  courses  from  the  standpoint  of  the  pre- 
paratory school  are  these :  ( I )  The  requirements  for  admission 
to  the  -B.  S  course  (general)  are  higher  in  science  and  mathe- 
matics, and  (2)  the  requirements  for  admission  to  the  B.  L. 
course  are  higher  in  language  and  history.  The  difference  in 
admission  terms  for  the  Ph.  B.,  B.  L.,  and  B.  S.  courses  in  the 
country  at  large  does  not  warrant  the  needless  differentiation 
which  still  exists. 

There  is  much  to  be  said,  however,  in  defense  of  these 
parallel  courses.  They  came  at  a  time  when  the  non-classical 
student  had  no  access  to  college,  except  to  certain  special 
courses;  and  they  have  really  extended  the  influence  of  the 
colleges  by  bringing  the  advantages  of  a  college  education 
within  reach  of  thousands,  particularly  in  small  towns  and 
rural  districts.11  As  long  as  colleges  still  required  both  Latin 
and  Greek  for  admission,  and  were  not  only  constantly  advanc- 

II  (a).  Of  the  475  colleges  that  are  listed  in  the  Report  of  the  U.  S. 
Commissioner  of  Education  for  1896-97  there  are  less  than  one  hundred 
that  do  not  give  at  least  one  of  these  degrees.  Of  this  small  minority  a 


$4  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [250 

ing  the  requisitions  in  these  languages,  but  also  were  con- 
tinually increasing  the  number  of  entrance  subjects,12  it  was 
impossible  for  the  smaller  high  schools  to  keep  pace  with  the 
college  requirements,  and  at  the  same  time  render  to  the  com- 
munity that  service  for  which  they  had  been  founded.  Some 
encouragement  for  such  schools  was  necessary,  and  it  came 
by  the  establishment  of  these  parallel  courses.  Lamenting  the 
state  of  things  which  made  these  concessions  necessary, 
President  Eliot  says:  "  Is  it  not  their  plain  duty  (of  colleges) 
to  maintain  two  schedules  of  requirements,  one  for  the  degree 
of  Bachelor  of  Arts,  the  other  for  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of 
Science  or  Philosophy,  the  latter  demanding  much  less  pre- 
paratory study  than  the  former?  American  colleges  have 
t>een  severely  criticised  for  receiving  students  whose  prepara- 
tion was  confessedly  inferior  to  that  required  of  candidates  for 
the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts;  but  even  the  oldest  and 
strongest  of  them  have  done  this,  and  they  have  done  it  from 
a  genuine  desire  to  be  serviceable  to  as  large  a  proportion  as 
possible  of  American  youth."  13 

These  parallel  courses,  through  their  admission  terms,  have 
doubtless  influenced  preparatory  schools  in  another  way  to  a 
greater  extent  than  has  the  classical  course.  The  classical 
course  by  mantaining  a  high  standard  of  requirements  has 
been  influential  in  holding  the  classics  and  mathematics  of  the 
preparatory  school  up  to  a  certain  standard,  but  beyond  the 
range  of  those  studies  the  influence  of  the  classical  course  has 
not  been  extensive.  As  late  as  1897  only  fourteen  per  cent,  of 
large  number  are  Roman  Catholic  colleges,  which  naturally  have  a  some- 
what narrow  curriculum. 

(fe)  The  following  universities,  Michigan.  Yale,  Cornell,  Pennsly- 
vania,  Columbia,  Princeton,  Wisconsin,  California,  Brown  and  Harvard, 
gave,  in  1884,  645  A.  B.  degrees,  and  313  non-classical  degrees;  but  the 
same  ten  universities  in  1898  gave  1012  A.  B.  degrees  and  1122  non- 
classical  degrees.  This  tremendous  development  of  the  parallel  courses 
measures,  to  some  extent,  the  influence  of  these  courses.  These  statis- 
tics are  gathered  in  tabular  form  in  the  Report  of  the  President  of 
Harvard  College  for  1897-98,  pages  20  and  21. 

12.  See  Historical  Discussion,  p.  54. 

13.  Educational  Reform,  p.  200. 


25 1]  FLEXIBILITY  IN  REQUIREMENTS  85 

the  colleges  with  an  A.  B.  course  required  either  French  or 
German  for  admission  to  that  course,  while  over  forty-one 
per  cent,  required  a  modern  language  for  admission  to  the 
Ph.  B.  course,  and  over  thirty-eight  per  cent,  for  either  the 
B.  L.  or  the  B.  S.  course.14  In  a  like  manner  the  introduction 
of  science  work  in  the  preparatory  schools  has  received  its 
chief  encouragement  from  the  demands  of  the  latter  courses. 
In  1897  less  than  thirty-five  per  cent,  of  the  colleges  in  the 
country  required  science  for  admission  to  the  A.  ,B.  course.16 
The  requirements  of  parallel  courses  have  doubtless  influenced 
the  introduction  of  history,  particularly  modern,  United  States 
history,  and  civil  government,  to  a  greater  extent  than  has  the 
A.  B.  course.  The  influence  of  the  classical  course  on  the 
work  of  the  secondary  school  has  been  intense  but  narrow. 

There  are  also  numerous  objections  to  parallel  courses.  The 
most  serious  one  is  that  they  draw  their  students  from 
courses  in  the  preparatory  schools  which  are  manifestly  weaker 
in  the  quality  of  the  work  done  than  the  classical  course  has 
been.  They  are  patched  up  courses,  composed  of  studies  lack- 
ing in  continuity,  and  taught  often  by  weaker  and  more  poorly 
prepared  teachers  than  have  been  the  classics.  President 
Eliot  says  in  this  connection:  "  Some  universities  use  the  four 
degrees  called  Bachelor  of  Arts,  Bachelor  of  Science,  Bachelor 
of  Philosophy,  and  Bachelor  of  Letters.  Many  universities 
and  colleges  use  two  or  three  of  these  titles.  In  this  process 
a  grave  evil  has  come  into  both  schools  and  colleges,  because 
the  new  courses  in  the  secondary  schools  have  generally  been 
inferior  to  the  old  or  classical  course ;  and,  moreover,  the  new 
degrees  in  the  colleges  and  universities  generally  represent  an 
inferior  attainment  on  the  part  of  the  pupils,  either  at  school  or 
within  the  college  or  university  itself,  or  sometimes  in  both 
places."16  The  objection  is  not  to  the  character  of  the  sub- 
jects which  make  up  these  courses,  but  to  the  manner  of  treat- 

14.  Table,  p.  82. 

15.  Report  of  the  United  States  Commissioner  of  Education,  1896- 
97,  L,  470. 

1 6.  Educational  Reform,  p.  390. 


86  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [252 

ment  which  they  have  received  in  many  preparatory  schools. 
This  is  due  largely  to  the  fact  that  the  colleges,  in  order  to 
encourage  non-classical  students,  have  accepted  for  admission 
to  the  semi-classical  courses  a  lower  grade  of  work  in  the 
various  substitutes  for  Latin  and  Greek  than  in  the  classics 
themselves.  Science  is  taught  in  many  places  with  a  most 
wretched  laboratory  equipment.17  History  is  frequently 
handled  by  a  teacher  who  has  never  himself  ventured  beyond 
the  limits  of  an  elementary  text-book.  Modern  languages 
often  fall  to  the  lot  of  the  teacher  of  classics,  whose  linguistic 
training  or  ingenuity  enables  him  to  keep  a  safe  distance  ahead 
of  his  class.  In  the  case  of  a  boy  who  is  fully  prepared  for  ad- 
mission to  the  classical  course,  however,  we  can  be  reasonably 
sure  that  he  has  continued  the  study  of  Latin  and  Greek  for  at 
least  three  or  four  years,  and  under  a  teacher  who,  if  an  A.  B., 
has  a  handicap  of  at  least  a  year  over  his  brightest  pupils. 
Colleges  which  maintain  parallel  courses  frequently  accept,  in 
lieu  of  Greek  and  the  full  amount  of  Latin,  several  scraps  of 
subjects,  18  and  thereby  encourage  such  hasty  preparation  and 
discontinuity  of  effort  as  have  been  described.  While  parallel 
courses  have  doubtless  been  influential  in  extending  the  curri- 
culum of  preparatory  schools,  at  the  same  time,  by  encouraging 
lower  standards,  they  have  affected  seriously  the  quality  of 
work  done  there. 

These  parallel  courses  are  at  the  best  a  compromise,  made 
necessary  because  the  classicists  have  continued  in  the  mistaken 
belief  that  the  traditional  A.  B.  belonged  only  to  those  who  had 
well  studied  both  Latin  and  Greek.  The  consequence  of  the 
persistence  of  this  idea  is  that  the  admission  requirements  in 
Greek,  as  our  historical  discussion  has  demonstrated,  have  been 
continually  advancing  for  two  centuries.  Before  1700  only  a 

17.  "  In  Massachusetts,  in  1897,  it  was  reported  that  66  high  schools 
had  good  laboratory  facilities." — Brown,   E.   E. ;   Monograph   on  Sec- 
ondary Education,  p.  43.    That  would  be  about  twenty-seven  per  cent  of 
the  high  schools  in  Massachusetts  at  that  time.     The  conditions  in  many 
so-called  good  fitting  schools  are  worse  still. 

18.  Table,  p.  79;  especially  science  requirement  at  Oberlin. 


3,53]  FLEXIBILITY  IN  REQUIREMENTS  87 

smattering  of  Greek  was  deemed  necessary  for  admission  to 
college.19  During  the  colonial  period  a  knowledge  of  Hebrew 
was  also  regarded  necessary  for  culture,  and  that  language 
played  an  important  part  in  the  college  curriculum.20  There 
was  then  some  excuse  for  Hebrew ;  it  functioned  to  some 
extent  in  the  lives  of  the  educated,  because  the  educated  were 
for  the  most  part  clergymen.  For  the  same  reason  Greek  had 
a  place.  When  the  chief  purpose  of  higher  education  was  no 
longer  to  train  ministers  of  the  Gospel,  Hebrew  naturally  de- 
parted. Greek,  although  several  times  vigorously  assailed,21 
has  continued,  at  first  because,  before  the  development  of 
scientific  studies,  there  was  little  else  to  put  into  the  curriculum, 
but  since,  because  it  has  been  propped  up  by  the  questionable 
theory  of  formal  discipline.  Many  well-meaning  scholars  still 
believe  sincerely  that  the  college  graduate  without  that  mental 
discipline,  which  is  said  to  result  from  the  study  of  Greek  is 
less  able  to  meet  life's  battle  than  his  classic-trained  classmate. 
This  conviction  persists  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  in  colleges 
where  Greek  is  optional  students  who  have  studied  no  Greek 
at  all  rank  quite  as  well  in  the  more  serious  subjects  as  those 
who  have  had  it.  Since  the  year  1886-87  candidates  for  ad- 
mission to  Harvard  College  have  been  permitted  to  substitute 
certain  studies  for  Greek.  Careful  records  have  been  kept  of 
the  relative  standing  of  graduates  and  undergraduates  both 
who  have  and  who  have  not  had  Greek.  As  the  result 
President  Eliot  was  able  to  state  in  his  report  for  1892,  after 
a  careful  study  of  statistics,  that  "  the  persons  who  have  thus 
far  entered  college  without  Greek  are  abundantly  able  to  profit 
by  their  college  life,  and  to  win  a  standing  which  is,  on  the 
average,  above  that  of  those  who  entered  with  Greek."  There 
are  now,  however,  signs  of  weakening  on  every  hand.  We 
have  no  longer  any  assurance  that  a  Bachelor  of  Arts  knows 
a  word  of  Greek ;  Greek  is  no  longer  required  in  .the  German 
gynasium ; 22  even  Yale  College  has  dropped  Greek  as  a  re- 

19.  Historical  Discussions,  p.  18. 

20.  Curriculum  of  Harvard  College,  pp.  20  and  21,  supra. 

21.  Note  i,  p.  71. 

22.  Educational  Review,  January,  1902,  103. 


88  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [254 

quired  study  for  sophomores,  and  Greek  as  an  entrance  re- 
quirement is  already  in  the  balance.23  Greek  will  probably  go 
the  way  that  Hebrew  has  gone ;  that  is,  will  become  a  study  for 
the  specialist.  Latin,  however,  is  receiving  added  attention,24 
and  will  probably  remain ,  because  it  is  so  intimately  related  to 
our  own  tongue  and  is  the  root  of  modern  European  languages. 

We  have  thus  far  discussed  only  one  way  by  which  flexibility 
in  admission  requirements  has  been  secured.  There  remains 
another  movement,  still  more  significant,  and  one  which  bids 
fair  to  solve  the  problem  of  college  admission  requirements. 
This  movement  is  closely  related  to  the  passing  of  Greek,  just 
described,  and  its  aim  is  to  make  admission  to  the  A.  B.  course 
possible  without  Greek.  The  development  of  this  phase  of 
flexibility  in  admission  requirements  extends  over  the  last  three 
decades  in  two  or  three  instances,  but  it  belongs,  for  the  most 
part,  to  the  last  ten  years.  Harvard  has  been  the  leader  in 
this  movement.  At  Harvard  this  phase  of  flexibility  has  had  a 
very  interesting  development,  and  the  Faculty  have  given  to  it 
a  serious  study  for  thirty  years.  It  will  be  necessary  to  discuss- 
this  movement  in  considerable  detail. 

At  Harvard  University  the  development  of  flexibility  in 
admission  requirements  has  passed  through  four  stages,  de- 
noted by  the  dates  1871,  1878,  1887,  and  1898.  In  1871  two 
sets  of  requirements  were  offered  for  admission  to  the  A.  B. 
course,  called  "  Course  I.  "  and  "  Course  II."25  The  former 

23.  Yale  University  Catalogue,  1901-02,  75. 

24.  Between  1889  and  1899  the  number  of  students  pursuing  Latin  in 
secondary    schools    in    the    United    States    increased    16.35    per    cent- 
Report   of   United  States  Commissioner   of  Education,   1900,  p.   2128, 
table. 

25.  COURSE  I.  COURSE  II. 

LATIN.  LATIN. 

The  whole  of  Virgil.  Virgil,  Eclogues  and  ^Eneid,  6. 

The  whole  of  Caesar.  Caesar,  4. 

Ten  orations  of  Cicero.  Cicero,  6. 

Grammar  and  composition.  Grammar  and  prosody. 


255]  FLEXIBILITY  IN  REQUIREMENTS  % 

comprised  the  same  subjects  to  the  same  extent  as  hitherto;  the 
latter  comprised  less  Latin  and  Greek,  but  advanced  mathe- 
matics and  elementary  mechanics.  In  1874  a  greater  variety  of 
classical  authors  was  included  in  "  Course  I.,"26  and  in 
"  Course  II."  the  Latin  requirement  was  reduced  slightly,  and 
analytic  plane  geometry  was  added.27 

The  purpose  of  this  plan  of  admission  requirements  was,  as 
one  would  naturally  expect,  to  bring  the  college  course  within 
reach  of  a  class  of  young  men  whom  all  previous  arrangements 
had  excluded.  In  the  Annual  Report  of  the  President  of  Har- 
vard College  for  1870-71  we  find  the  following  statement  of 
the  case :  "  In  many  parts  of  the  country  it  is  impossible  for 
young  men,  however  able  and  studious,  to  obtain  the  thor- 
oughness of  instruction  in  the  classics  which  is  required  for  a 
creditable  admission  into  Harvard  College.  This  fact,  taken 
in  connection  with  the  recognition  which  the  college  now  gives 
in  its  scheme  of  studies  to  the  truly  liberal  character  of  a  course 
of  study  predominately  scientific,  led  the  Faculty  last  year  to 

COURSE  I  (Continued.)  COURSE  II  (Continued.) 

GREEK.  GREEK. 

Anabasis,  entire,  or  Goodwin  and  Anabasis,  4;  or,  Reader,  in  pp. 

Allen's  Reader.  Iliad,  2. 

Iliad,  three  books.  Grammar  and  metres. 
Grammar  and  composition. 

MATHEMATICS.  MATHEMATICS. 

Arithmetic,  with  metric  system.          Arithmetic,  with  metric  system. 
Algebra,  through  quadratics.  Algebra,  advanced. 

Plane  geometry.  Geometry,  plane  and  solid  and 

logarithms. 

Plane  trigonometry. 

Elementary  mechanics. 

Same  amount  of  history  and  geography  for  both  courses.     (See  table, 

P-  53-) 

26  (a).  Latin:  Caesar,  Cicero,  Sallust,  Ovid,  Virgil,  Latin  at  sight., 
(fc)  Greek:  Anabasis  (4),  Herodotus,  7th  book. 

— Catalogue,  1873-74. 
27.  Two  books  of  Caesar  and  the  Eclogues  of  Virgil  were  omitted. 


90  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [256 

seek  some  means  by  which,  without  lowering  the  standard  of 
its  admission  examinations,  the  college  might  be  opened  to 
young  men  whose  superior  training  in  mathematics  compen- 
sated for  their  deficiencies  in  the  classics."  (p.  54.)  An  ex- 
amination of  statistics,  however,  will  show  that  the  resulting 
advantage  was  very  slight.  The  new  system  went  into  effect 
in  1872.  During  the  five  years  immediately  following  1872 
the  number  entering  the  freshman  class  indicates  a  total  in- 
crease of  thirty  per  cent.,  and  an  average  yearly  increase  of 
thirty  per  cent,  over  the  number  entering  during  the  five  years 
immediately  preceding  1872.  That  this  increase  was  not  due 
in  any  considerable  degree  to  the  new  scheme  of  admission  is 
indicated  by  the  fact  that  of  the  candidates  for  admission  to 
Harvard  during  the  five  years  following  the  adoption  of  the 
new  scheme  less  than  five  per  cent,  choose  "  Course  II."28  There 
are  two  explanations  for  this  poor  showing.  The  first  is  the 
long  standing  popularity  of  the  classics,  and  the  second  is  that 
the  penalty  incurred  by  a  candidate  who  offered  the  shorter 
course  in  Greek  and  Latin  could  be  met  only  by  students  of  a 
distinctly  scientific  and  mathematical  bent  of  mind.  The  new 
plan,  while  interesting  as  the  first  attempt  at  flexibility,  was 
really  not  a  liberal  one.  "  Course  II.,"  which  included  less 
Latin  and  Greek,  still  called  for  as  a  preparation  in  those 
languages  as  did  the  other  colleges  of  the  time;  while  the 
only  alternative  for  the  full  requisition  in  the  classics  was  a 
very  extensive  knowledge  of  mathematics  and  of  elementary 
mechanics. 

In  1878  the  method  of  admission  to  the  A.  B.  course  at  Har- 
vard was  still  further  revised.  In  that  year  candidates  might 
offer  a  minimum  in  all  subjects  and  a  maximum  in  two  others. 
The  minimum  subjects  were: 

i,  2.  Latin: (a)   Caesar   (4),   (b)    Virgil  (6.  and  Eclogues). 

(c)  Translation  at  sight  of  easy  Latin  prose. 

(d)  Translation  into  Latin  of  simple  English  passages. 

28.  These  averages  were  computed  from  statistics  contained  in  the 
Reports  of  the  President  of  Harvard  College. 


357]  FLEXIBILITY  IN  REQUIREMENTS  gi 

3,  4.  Greek:  Either  A.  or  B. 

A.  (3)  Translation  at  sight  of  easy  passages  from  Xenophon. 
(4)  Translation  into  Greek  of  simple  English  sentences. 

B.  (3)  Anabasis   (4),  or  Goodwin's  Reader   (in  pages). 
(4)  Translation  into  Greek  of  simple  sentences. 

5.  Ancient  History  and  Geography  (Greek  and  Roman). 

6,  7,  8.  Mathematics:     (6)  Arithmetic,  (7)  algebra,  elementary,  (8) 
plane  geometry. 

9.  Physics  (elementary). 

10.  English  composition. 

11.  French  or  German  (elementary). 

The  maximum  subjects  were : 

I.    LATIN. 

i,  2.  (i)  Cicero's   orations   against    Catiline,   and    Virgil's     ^Eneid, 

V.-IX. 

(2)  Translation  at   sight  of  average  passages  from   Cicero's 
orations,  and  Latin  composition. 

II.     GREEK. 

I,  2,  (i)   Translation  at  sight  of  average  passages  from  Herodotus 

(requiring  more  extensive  reading). 

(2)  Simple  Greek  prose  composition,  as  either  the  translation 
at  sight  of  average  passages  from  the  Iliad,  or  Iliad  I., 
II.,  1-493,  and  III.,  with  questions  on  the  passages  set  for 
translation. 

III.     MATHEMATICS. 

I,  2.  (i)  Logarithms,  and  plane  trigonometry. 
(2)   Solid  geometry. 

IV.     PHYSICAL   AND    NATURAL    SCIENCE. 

i,  2.    (i)  Arnott's  Physics,  to  Part  IV.,  Sec.  in. 
(2)  Either  chemistry  or  botany. 

To  avoid  waste  of  effort  on  the  part  of  examiners  and  the 
examined,  candidates  were  allowed  to  appear  for  examination 
only  in  those  subjects  in  which  their  teachers  gave  them  cer- 
tificates of  proficiency. 

As  it  was  indicated  before,  the  admission  plan  of  1871  did 
not  meet  adequately  the  demands  of  the  preparatory  schools. 
There  was  still  but  slight  flexibility.  The  Faculty  deliberated 


92  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [258 

a  year  over  the  system  just  described.  "  In  making  this  revi- 
sion they  were  not  influenced  by  a  desire  to  increase  the  sever- 
ity of  the  present  requisites — which  have  probably  been  carried 
to  as  high  a  point  as  good  judgment  will  allow — but  by  a  con- 
viction that  the  attainments  implied  in  the  preparatory  course 
can  be  made  more  valuable,  and  that  the  conflicting  claims  of 
classical  and  scientific  studies  can  be  recognized  and  adjusted 
more  satisfactorily  than  is  done  at  present."29  A  careful  study 
of  the  1878  scheme  will  show  that  it  was  not  much  more  flexible 
than  that  of  1871.  The  early  plan  offered  two  combinations, 
the  revised  one,  six.  The  six  possible  combinations  were  these : 
All  4he  minimum  requirements  with  ( i )  advanced  Greek  and 
Latin,  (2)  with  advanced  mathematics  and  science,  (3)  with 
advanced  Latin  and  mathematics,  (4)  with  advanced  Latin 
and  science,  (5)  with  advanced  Greek  and  mathematics,  (6) 
with  advanced  Greek  and  science.  Using  the  Roman  numerals 
applied  to  the  advanced  subjects,  we  may  state  these  combina- 
tions as  follows :  I.  and  II.,  III.  and  IV.,  I.  and  III.,  I.  and  IV., 
II.  and  III.,  II.  and  IV.  Besides  these  combinations  there 
were  options  within  subjects.  In  Greek,  for  instance,  one  had 
a  rather  liberal  range  of  Both  authors  and  methods.  In  the 
year  1878,  when  the  new  method  went  into  effect  for  the  first 
time,  forty-five  per  cent,  of  the  candidates  for  admission  chose 
this  method;  in  1879,  sixty-three  per  cent,  selected  the  new 
method,  and,  in  1880,  eighty-five  per  cent.30  In  1881  the  old 
method,  which  had  been  maintained  as  an  alternative,  was  dis- 
continued. The  immediate  success  of  the  new  system  evinces 
not  only  its  superiority  over  the  old  one,  but  also  shows  how 
promptly  the  preparatory  schools  were  able  to  adjust  themselves 
to  the  new  terms  of  admission.  The  latter  is  more  remarkable 
in  connection  with  the  fact  that  of  the  students  admitted  to  the 
freshman  class  of  Harvard  College  between  1878  and  1881  over 
thirty  per  cent,  came  from  public  high  schools.31 

29.  Report   of    the   President   of  Harvard    University    for   the   year 

1876-77,  P.  58. 

30.  Report  of  President  of  Harvard   University  for  the  years  indi- 
cated. 

31.  Report  of  the  President  of  Harvard  University,  1881. 


259]  FLEXIBILITY  IN  REQUIREMENTS  93 

The  system  of  1878  continued  in  use  for  ten  years.  From  / 
time  to  time  there  were  slight  changes,  nearly  all  of  which  were 
in  the  direction  of  greater  flexibility.  In  1882  the  minimum 
subjects  were  called  "  prescribed,"  and  the  advanced  subjects 
"  elective."  These  terms  are  self-explanatory.  In  the  same 
year,  as  the  result  of  a  conference  of  certain  New  England 
colleges — to  be  discussed  later — Harvard  made  a  few  substi- 
tutions among  the  Greek  and  Latin  authors  required  for  en- 
trance, and  extended  slightly  the  requisitions  in  English. 

In  May,  1886,  after  a  discussion  of  three  years,  the  Harvard 
Faculty  adopted  a  new  system  of  admission  requirements. 
The  subjects  were  divided  into  two  groups,  called  elementary 
and  advanced.  The  elementary  subjects  were: 

1.  English,     Composition     and     correction     of     specimens     of     bad 
English. 

2.  Greek,  Translation  at  sight  of  Attic  prose. 

3.  Latin,  Translation  at  sight  of  simple  prose. 

4.  German,  Translation  at  sight  of  simple  prose. 

5.  French,  Translation  at  sight  of  ordinary  prose. 

6.  History  (including  historical  geography),  History  of  Greece  and 
Rome,  or  (2)  History  of  the  United  States  and  England. 

7.  Mathematics,     (i)     Algebra,    through    quadratic    equations;    (2) 
Plane  geometry. 

8.  Physical  Science,  (i)  Astronomy  and  physics  (text-book,  Gage,  or 
Avery),  or  (2)  A  course  of  experiments  in  physics. 

The  advanced  subjects  were : 

1.  Greek,  Translation  at  sight  of  average  passages  from  Homer,  or 
the  translation  at  sight  of  less  difficult  passages  from  both  Homer  and 
Herodotus. 

2.  Latin,  The  translation  at  sight  of  average  passages  from  Cicero 
•and  Virgil. 

3.  Greek  and  Latin  composition,  translation  into  Greek  and  Latin  of 
a  passage  of  connected  English  narrative. 

4.  German,  German  classics,  translation  at  sight  of  modern  German 
prose,  grammar,  and  composition. 

5.  French,  same  as  in  German. 

6.  Mathematics,    (i)    Logarithms,    plane    trigonometry;     (2)     Solid 
geometry,  or  elements  of  analytic  geometry. 


94  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [26o 

7.  Mathematics,    (i)    Either  elements  of  analytic  geometry  or  solid 
geometry;  (2)  Elementary  mechanics. 

8.  Physical  science,  A  course  of  at  least  sixty  experiments,  in  addition 
to  those  of  elementary  physics. 

9.  Physical  science — chemistry,  A  course  of  at  least  sixty  experiments. 

The  candidate  might  satisfy  the  requirements  for  admission 
by  offering  one  of  four  combinations : 

(a)  All  the  elementary  subjects  and  at  least  two  of  the 
advanced  subjects. 

(b)  All  the  elementary  subjects  except  either  German  or 
French,  and  at  least  three  of  the  advanced  subjects. 

(c)  All    the    elementary    subjects    except    either    Greek   or 
Latin,  and  at  least  four  advanced  subjects,  including  6  and 
one  of  the  three  numbered  7,  8,  and  9. 

(d)  All   the   elementary    subjects    except    either    Greek   or 
Latin  and  either  French  or  German ;  and  at  least  five  advanced 
subjects,   including  6  and   one   of   the   three   numbered   7,   8, 
and  9.32 

Compared  with  the  1878  method,  this  system  afforded  con- 
siderable freedom.  Under  the  former  system  at  its  most  lib- 
eral stage  a  candidate  had  to  offer  at  least  all  the  prescribed 
subjects,  while  he  had  only  four  optional  subjects  with  which 
to  form  combinations.  Under  the  new  scheme  course  (a) 
was  fully  as  liberal  as  the  previous  system ;  in  fact,  it  permitted 
more  combinations  among  the  advanced  subjects;  and  courses 
(b),  (c)  and  (d)  extended  the  options  still  further.  The  espe- 
cially noteworthy  feature  of  the  new  system  was  that  by  offer- 
ing courses  (c)  or  (d)  a  candidate  could  gain  admittance  to 
the  A.  B.  course  in  Harvard  College  and  omit  one  of  the  clas- 
sical languages.  The  penalty  for  this  privilege,  however,  was 
considerable.  For  example,  whoever  desired  to  omit  Greek 
was  obliged  to  stand  for  course  (c)  or  course  (d).  In  either 
case  he  had  to  offer  (6) — plane  trigonometry  and  solid  or  an- 
alytic geometry — and  either  (7),  (8),  or  (9)  ;  also  two  other  ad- 
vanced subjects.  Now,  with  this  arrangement,  (6)  and  either 
(7),  (8),  or  (9)  are  prescribed;  and  (i)  and  (3) — advanced 

32.  Catalogue  of  Harvard  University,  1886-87. 


FLEXIBILITY  IN  REQUIREMENTS 


95 


Greek,  and  Greek  and  Latin  advanced  composition — would  nat- 
urally be  closed  to  one  omitting  elementary  Greek.  That  would 
leave  only  five  advanced  subjects  from  which  to  choose  the 
two  additional  subjects;  whereas  the  candidates  who  offered 
both  elementary  Greek  and  Latin  would  have  the  entire  list 
of  advanced  subjects  from  which  to  select  the  requisite  two. 
The  case  of  a  candidate  who  desired  to  omit  Latin  would  be 
the  same.  Those  who  omitted  both  an  ancient  and  a  modern 
language  from  the  list  of  elementary  subjects — that  is,  offered 
course  (d) — were  still  further  restricted  in  their  choice  of  ad- 
vanced subjects.  The  candidates  offering  course  (a)  or 
course  (b)  had  a  decided  advantage  so  far  as  freedom  of 
choice  was  concerned;  in  other  words,  the  new  scheme  still 
favored  preparation  in  the  classics.  The  following  table 
shows  the  relative  popularity  of  the  four  courses  during  ten 
consecutive  years.  In  this  case  the  popularity  of  each  method 
would  indicate  the  ability  of  secondary  schools  to  meet  the  re- 
quirements of  that  method,  and  measures,  therefore,  the  rela- 
tive advantage  to  preparatory  schools  of  each  course  of  en- 
trance requirements. 

TABLE  X  * 

TABLE  SHOWING  RELATIVE  ADVANTAGE  OF  THE  FOUR  METHODS  OF  ADMIS- 
SION TO  HARVARD  FROM  1888  TO  1898 


PERCENTAGE   OF   CANDIDATES    OFFERING   IN    YEAR 

1888 

1889 

1890 

1891 

1892 

1893 

1894 

1895 

1896 

1897 

1898 

Course  (a)  ... 

31-43 

37.31 

36.63 

39-96 

43.36 

41.98 

38.03 

40.96 

52.17 

41.28 

50.66 

35.81 

38.89 

Course  (b)... 

64.44 

55.35 

55-08 

52.36 

50.66 

50.73 

54-45 

53-47 

49-39 

Course  (c)..  . 

3-50 

6.42 

7-49 

6.69 

5.54 

0.44 

7.09 

6.73 

6.69 

6.94 

8-95 

11-37 

Course  (d)... 

0.63 

0.92 

0.80 

0.99 

0.20 

0.79 

0.18 

I.  12 

i  77 

o.35 

100. 

TOO. 

IOO. 

IOO.      IOO. 

TOO. 

IOO. 

IOO. 

IOO. 

IOO. 

IOO. 

*  The  percentages  were   computed  from   statistics  in  the  Report  of 
the  President  of  Harvard  University  for  the  years  indicated. 

Course  (d)  was  evidently  never  very  popular;  the  range  of 
option,  as  we  have  shown,  was  altogether  too  small.     Again 


96  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [262 

it  required  considerable  advanced  mathematics,  and  relatively 
few  boys  have  a  taste  for  that  subject;  moreover,  the  time  re- 
quired to  master  the  substitutes  for  Greek  was  considerably 
more  than  that  for  Greek.  In  1898  only  three-tenths  of  all 
the  candidates  for  admission  staked  their  chances  on  this 
course.  Course  (c),  on  the  other  hand,  which  also  omitted  an 
ancient  language,  but  included  both  French  and  German,  had 
a  gradual  increase  until  1898.  This  indicates  to  a  certain  ex- 
tent a  tendency  in  the  preparatory  schools  away  from  the 
classics,  especially  Greek,  and  towards  the  modern  languages. 
The  ratio  between  course  (a)  and  course  (b)  remained  fairly 
constant,  with  a  slight  increase  in  favor  of  course  (a),  which 
increase  was  probably  due  to  some  extent  to  an  increased  at- 
tention to  German  in  the  secondary  schools.  Course  (b) 
throughout  the  decade  remained  the  most  attractive  to  the  sec- 
ondary schools,  because,  perhaps,  it  corresponded  most  nearly 
to  the  plan  previous  to  1887,  and  was  more  like  the  require- 
ments for  admission  to  other  colleges. 

In  1898,  after  a  deliberation  of  three  years,  the  Faculty  of 
Harvard  University  adopted  an  entirely  new  system  of  ad- 
mission requirements,  which  is,  in  substance,  the  one  now  in 
use.  In  a  preliminary  scheme  algebra  and  history  had  been 
made  elective ;  but  these  had  to  be  restored  to  the  list  of  re- 
quired studies  before  the  Corporation  and  Board  of  Overseers 
would  accept  the  new  system  of  entrance  requirements.  This 
little  episode  in  the  deliberations  over  the  new  requisitions  is 
interesting,  because  it  shows  how  strongly  the  tendency  toward 
flexibility  had  set  in.  Under  the  new  system  examinations  are 
held  in  the  following  subjects: 

ELEMENTARY.  ADVANCED. 

English  (4). 

Greek  (4).  Greek  (2). 

Latin  (4).  Latin  (2). 

German  (2).  German  (2). 

French  (2).  French  (2). 


263]  FLEXIBILITY  IN  REQUIREMENTS  97 

One  of  the  following  four: 
Ancient  History  (2),  Ancient  History  (2). 

or  English  and  American  History 

English  and  American  History    •  (2). 

(2).  History  of  Europe  (2). 

History  of  a  period  (2). 
Algebra  (2). 
Geometry  (3),  Algebra  (i). 

or  Logarithms  and  Trigonometry 

Plane  Geometry   (2).  (i). 

Astronomy  (i) 
Physics   (2). 

Chemistry  (2).  Physics  (2). 

Physiography   (i).  Meteorology  (i). 

Anatomy,  etc.  (i). 

The  figures  after  each  subject  indicate  the  relative  weight, 
"  points,"  of  that  study  in  determining  the  candidate's  fitness 
for  admission.  "  A  '  point '  is  estimated  to  represent  approxi- 
mately a  half-year's  work  in  one  study,  of  four  or  five  lessons 
a  week,  in  school,  or  a  '  half-course '  in  college."38 

For  admission  a  candidate  must  offer  twenty-six  points,  of 
which  at  least  four  must  be  in  advanced  studies.  The  studies 
offered  must  include : 

English 4 

One  ancient  language  (Elem.  Latin  or  Elem.  Greek) 4 

One  modern  foreign  language  (Elem.  German  or  Elem.  French)  2 

Elementary  History 2 

Algebra 2 

Geometry,  or  Plane  Geometry 3  or  2 

Studies  amounting  to  two  points  from  the  following  sciences : 

Elementary  Physics,  Chemistry,  Physiography,  Anatomy,  etc. 

Astronomy 2 

19  or  18 

The  only  restriction  in  the  choice  of  advanced  subjects  is, 
that  "  no  candidate  may  offer  an  advanced  study  who  does  not 
at  the  same  time  or  earlier  offer  the  corresponding  elementary 
study;  but  physics  is  considered  elementary  with  respect  to 

33.  Report  of  President  of  Harvard  University,  1897-98,  p.  101. 


98  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [264 

meteorology,  and  geometry  or  plane  geometry  with  respect  to 
astronomy."3* 

Compared  with  the  old  method  .the  new  method  involves  the 
following  changes : 

(1)  It  includes  several  new  subjects;  physiography,  anat- 
omy  (with  physiology  and  hygiene),  European  history,  and 
history  of  a  period,  advanced  Greek  and  Roman  history,  and 
meteorology. 

(2)  Several  of  the  old  subjects  have  received  new  defini- 
tions— elementary    geometry    means    both    plane    and    solid 
geometry;  elementary  Latin  comprises  both  prose  and  poetry; 
for  both  elementary  Latin  and  Greek  two  courses  are  offered; 
(a)   sight  translation,  and   (b)   a  thorough  examination  on  a 
prescribed  portion  of  some  classical  author ;  elementary  French 
and  German  comprise  composition   as  well  as  translation.     All 
the  sciences  now  prescribe  laboratory  and  observational  study 
in  addition  to,  or  in  place  of,  text-book  knowledge;  in  ele- 
mentary physical  science  the  alternative  of  an  examination  on 
a  text-book  is  discontinued.    The  new  definitions  in  general  are 
calculated  to  encourage  the  development  of  power  in  originality 
and  in  constructive  ability. 

(3)  The  new  system  affords  a  much  more  liberal  option  in 
the  admission     subjects.     Under  the  old  system,  as  we  have 
seen,  there  were  only  four  combinations,  besides  certain  options 
within  subjects — for  instance,  physical  science  and  history- 
while  under  the  new  system  English  and  mathematics  are  the 
only  subjects  among  the  elementary  studies  absolutely  required 
of  all  candidates,  and  the  remaining  elementary  subjects  admit 
of  a  large  number  of  slightly  different  combinations    (over 
thirty),  and  those  combinations  enter  into  many  new  ones  with 
the  advanced  subjects,  making  a  very  wide  range  of  option 
possible.     The  freedom  for  the  individual  candidate  under  the 
new    scheme    is    described   by    President   Eliot   as    follows : 
"  Nearly  three-quarters  of  his  preparation  may  be  just  as  it 
was  one  hundred  years  ago,  or  fifty  years  ago — namely,  ia 

34.  Catalogue  of  Harvard  University,  1898-99. 


265]  FLEXIBILITY  IN  REQUIREMENTS  99 

Latin,  Greek,  elementary  mathematics,  and  ancient  history; 
or,  on  the  other  hand,  these  traditional  subjects  may  be  repre- 
sented by  less  than  one-third  of  his  secondary  school  studies — 
namely,  by  Latin,  algebra,  and  geometry.  Again,  nearly  half 
of  his  preparatory  studies  may  be  English  and  the  modern 
languages ;  or  the  natural  sciences,  which  thirty  years  ago  were 
not  accepted  at  all  for  admission  to  college,  may  constitute  a 
little  more  than  one-third  of  his  preparatory  studies.  Further, 
at  a  small  additional  cost  of  offering  three  advanced  subjects 
instead  of  two,  the  candidate  may  present  himself  in  modern 
languages  and  history  for  sixteen  out  of  twenty-six  points  re- 
quired ;  whereas  thirty  years  ago  the  modern  languages  were 
not  accepted  at  all,  and  history  was  represented  only  by  a  frag- 
mentary and  fleeting  acquaintance  with  Greek  and  Roman  his- 
tory, such  as  a  boy  might  easily  acquire  in  a  day  or  two  from 
a  small  primer  of  ancient  history."35  If  the  original  plan  of 
the  Faculty  making  elementary  algebra  and  elementary 
history  elective  had  been  accepted  by  the  Board  of  Overseers, 
election  in  the  requirements  for  admission  to  Harvard  College 
would  have  been  almost  entirely  free,  and  none  of  the  tradi- 
tional preparatory  studies  would  have  been  bolstered  up  any 
longer  by  arbitrary  requisition.  The  system  of  admission  just 
described  is  the  one  now  in  use  at  Harvard,  and  the  last  issued 
catalogue  indicates  no  significant  changes  in  details. 

Many  of  the  leading  colleges  in  the  country  that  have  made 
any  attempt  to  break  with  the  old  system  of  absolute  prescrip- 
tion of  admission  terms,  or  to  make  any  concessions  to  the 
social  demands  of  the  age  as  they  find  expression  in  the  curri- 
cula of  the  public  high  schools,  have  had  an  experience  similar 
to  tfiat  of  Harvard  University.  It  has  been  possible,  however, 
for  newer  institutions,  being  unhampered  by  tradition — Leland 
Stanford,  Jr.,  University,  for  instance — to  adopt  promptly 
a  system  which  in  older  colleges  is  the  result  of  an  up-hill 
struggle  of  a  progressive  minority  against  the  doubt  and  preju- 
dice of  the  stubborn  majority. 

The   development   of   flexibility  in   admission   requirements 
35.  Report  of  the  President  of  Harvard  University,  1898-99,  pp.  7,  8. 


ioo  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [266 

has  passed  through  three  distinct  stages,  represented  by  three 
systems  of  admission.  These  we  may  call  the  systems  of  abso- 
lute prescription,  the  group  system,  and  the  system  of  free 
election.  All  the  colleges  of  the  first  class  have  passed  out  of 
the  first  stage,  with  the  singular  exceptions  of  Yale  and  Prince- 
ton. Every  candidate  for  admission  to  the  A.  B.  course  in  these 
colleges  must  still  pass  an  examination  in  Greek,  Latin,  mathe- 
matics, modern  languages,  history,  and  English.  Of  course 
the  candidate  has  some  option  among  classical  authors,  and  can 
choose  between  French  and  German.  This  is  really  not  liberty. 
While  both  universities  have  maintained  a  scientific  school  for 
many  years,  both  have  always  forced  the  candidates  for  the 
A.  B.  course  through  the  same  narrow  door. 

The  group  system  has  taken  two  forms.  The  earliest,  of 
course,  arose  with  the  semi-classical  degrees,  Ph.  B.,  B.  L.,  B. 
S.,  etc.,  each  course  having  its  particular  group  of  admission 
subjects.  This  phase  of  flexibility  has  been  discussed  above.  It 
is  still  used  in  colleges  that  maintain  distinct  semi-classical 
courses;  but  in  recent  years  these  groups  have  been  further 
subdivided,  so  that  there  is  considerable  elasticity  within  the 
various  groups.  The  common  substitutes  for  Greek  are  ad- 
vanced French  and  German,  advanced  physical  science,  and 
advanced  mathematics.  Many  leading  colleges,  among  them 
Harvard,  Columbia,  Cornell,  Michigan,  and  Leland  Stanford, 
by  allowing  suitable  substitutes  for  Greek,  have  been  able  to 
avoid  unnecessary  distinctions  in  degrees  and  courses,  and 
now  grant  only  the  A.  B.  for  a  general  academic  course. 

The  second  form  of  the  group  system  is  represented  by  the 
system  which  existed  at  Harvard  from  1871  until  the  present 
method  was  adopted  in  1898.  This  form  offers  two  or  more 
groups  of  subjects,  any  one  of  which  admits  a  candidate  to  the 
A.  B.  course,  and  the  significant  feature  is  that  one  or  more  of 
the  groups  provide  some  substitute  for  Greek.  For  instance, 
at  Harvard  in  1898  there  were  two  groups  which  omitted 
Greek  or  Latin ;  at  Columbia  in  1898  there  were  three  groups, 
one  omitting  Greek ;  at  Cornell  in  1898  there  were  three  groups, 
two  of  which  included  no  Greek. 


267]  FLEXIBILITY  IN  REQUIREMENTS  ,Oi 

The  third  type  of  flexibility  in  admission  requirements,  the 
system  of  free  election,  was  first  established  among  the  larger 
colleges  at  Leland  Stanford,  Jr.,  University  at  the  opening 
of  that  institution  in  1891 ;  and  no  other  method  of  admission 
has  since  been  employed  by  that  university.  Choice  of  en- 
trance subjects  has  also  been  almost  absolutely  free  there. 
English  is  now  the  only  prescribed  subject.  In  1891  a  candi- 
date for  admission  had  simply  to  offer  English  and  any  ten 
of  a  list  of  twenty-five  other  studies.36  The  subjects,  how- 
ever, were  evidently  considered  of  equal  weight  and  were 
given  no  rating,  or  relative  valuation,  until  1894.  In  that  year 
the  candidate  was  allowed  a  choice  of  twenty-two  subjects 
from  which  he  had  to  select  studies,  amounting  to  twelve 
"credits"  (including  English,  two  credits).37  The  unit  on 
which  the  credit  was  based  was  a  year's  work  in  high  school. 
All  subjects  were  placed  upon  an  exact  equality.  In  1900  thir- 
teen credits  were  required  for  admission.  Since  1901  fifteen 
credits  have  been  required,  but  the  total  number  of  credits  from 
which  to  select  was  increased  to  thirty-two  by  the  addition  of 
advanced  courses  in  English  literature  and  in  all  the  languages, 
except  Spanish,  and  by  the  addition  of  entirely  new  sub- 
jects— physiography  (i),  mechanical  drawing  (5/2),  wood- 
working (  y2  ) ,  forge  work  ( l/2  ) ,  foundry  work  (  y2  ) ,  machine 
shop  work  ( I )  ;  the  total  number  is  now  about  thirty-eight. 

36.  The  subjects  were: 

1.  English.  12.  Freehand  drawing. 

2,  3.  Elementary  algebra,  13.  American  history. 

4.  Plane  geometry.  14.  English  history, 

5.  Solid    geometry    and    trigo-          15.  Grecian  and  Roman  history. 

nometry.  16.  English  literature. 

6.  Advanced  algebra,  J7-  Spanish. 

7.  Physics.  18-19.  French. 

8.  Chemistry,  20-21.  German. 

9.  Physiology.  22-23.  Latin, 

10.  Botany.  24.  Latin. 

11.  Zoology.  25-26.  Greek. 

37.  Solid   geometry  and  trigonometry  together  counted  one  credit; 
English,   elementary  algebra,   French    German,   elementary  Latin,  ad- 
vanced Latin  and  Greek,  each  two  credits ;  all  others,  each  one  credit. 


102  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [268 

The  system  of  free  election,  or  the  point  system  of  admission, 
lias  developed  almost  entirely  within  the  last  five  years ;  already, 
however,  many  of  the  leading  colleges  in  the  United  States 
have  adopted  the  system  ;38  and,  while  all  agree  in  the  principle, 
there  is  wide  difference  in  the  application.  The  system  in 
general  is  this:  A  list  of  from  twenty  to  thirty  subjects  is 
published,  to  each  subject  a  value  (point)  is  attached,  and 
candidates  for  admission  must  secure  a  certain  number  of 
points.  So  far  all  the  colleges  with  this  system  agree;  further 
they  do  not.  Colleges  differ  as  to  the  number  of  subjects 
offered,  and,  consequently,  there  is  a  difference  in  the  amount 
of  option  afforded.39  Colleges  differ  in  the  definition  of  the 
same  subject.  There  is  a  difference  in  the  method  of  rating 
subjects.  Columbia  and  Harvard  make  a  distinction  between 
elementary  and  advanced  subjects.  There  is  no  substantial 
agreement  as  to  the  meaning  of  the  term  "  point  " ;  at  Harvard 
it  means  a  subject  pursued  half  a  school  year  for  five  periods  a 
week,  while  at  Michigan  it  means  a  subject  pursued  during  a 
full  school  year  for  four  periods  a  week,  and  at  Leland  Stan- 
ford it  means  a  study  pursued  a  full  year  for  five  periods 
a  week.40  Among  colleges  that  make  a  point  represent  a  year's 
study,  however,  there  is  substantial  agreement  as  to  the  num- 
ber of  points  required.  The  usual  number  is  fifteen.  In  no 
college,  however,  is  election  absolutely  free.  All  colleges  re- 
quire English,  the  number  of  points  differing  according  to 
the  rating  of  the  subject;  elementary  mathematics  is  commonly 
prescribed ;  and  Harvard  requires  of  all  an  ancient  language 

38.  Harvard,   Columbia,   Michigan,   Chicago,   California,  and  Leland 
Stanford  universities,  and  several  others,  chiefly  state  universities,  have 
adopted  the  point  system.     The  "  point,"  of  course,  is  simply  a  con- 
venient means  of  stating  a  quantitative  requirement. 

39.  The   University   of   Michigan   offers    15    subjects,   Leland    Stan- 
ford 29. 

40.  The  rating  of  the  University  of  Iowa  is  unique.     A  "  credit "  is 
"  regarded  as  the  equivalent  of  one  study  daily  for  a  term  of  twelve 
weeks  on  a  basis  of  three  studies  a  day.     Therefore,  nine  credits  stand 
for  a  normal  year's  work."    Thirty-six  credits  are  required. — Catalogue 
for  1900-1901. 


FLEXIBILITY  IN  REQUIREMENTS 


103 


TABLE  XI 
LIST  AND  RATING  OF  SUBJECTS  FOR  ADMISSION  TO  FOUR  COLLEGES 


HARVARD 

COLUMBIA 

MICHIGAN 

LELAND    STANFORD 

26  points  ; 
4  in  adv.  studies 

15  points 

15  points 

15  points 

English  (4)  R 

English  (3)  R 

English  (3)  R 

Eng.  Comp.  (2)  R 

Algebra  (2)  R 
Geometry  (2)  or  (3) 

Algebra       J     .  R 
Geometry    f  '  *' 

Algebra      )  ,  .  R 
Geometry  f  u' 

Algebra  (i^) 
Geometry  (i) 

R 

German  (2)  ) 

German  (2)  orl 

German  (2,  3,  4) 

German  (2)  )  one 

French  (2)    >•  A 

(4)                     tc 

French  (2,  3) 

French  (2)  J   R 

Spanish  (2)  ) 

French   (2)   or  f 

Spanish  (i) 

Greek  (4)  )  one 

jreek  (3) 

(4)                   j 

Greek  (2,  3) 

Lain  (4)    j"  R 

Latin  (4) 

jreek  (2) 

Latin  (2,  3,  4) 

Anc.Hist.(2)  ) 

Ancient  Hist.  (i)  or 

^atin  (2)  or  (4) 

Anct.  History  (i) 

Eng.  &  Am.  >•  °Re 
History(2)  ) 
Physics  (2)1 
Chem.  (2)     j        t 
Physiog-       *-     £    ' 
raphy(i)   1 

Eng     and    Am. 
History  (i) 
Physics  (i)        ") 
Chemistry  (i)  j 
Botany  (i)         ^B 
Physiog.  (i) 

History  (i),  (2)  or  (3) 
Physics  (i)  R 
Chemistry  (i) 
Botany  (i) 
Zoology  (i) 
English  Literature 

M  e  d  .  and  Mod. 
History  (  i) 
Eng.  Hist,  (i) 
Am.  Hist,  (i) 
Physics  (i) 
Chemistry  (i) 

Anat.  (i)     J 

Zoology  (i)      J 

(i) 

Botany  (i) 

ADVANCED 

Algebra  (i) 

ADVANCED 

Mathematics  (i) 

Zoology  (i) 
Physiography  (i) 
Physiology  (i) 

Logarithms     and 

German  (i) 

Biology  (i) 

Trigonometry  (i) 
German  (2) 

French  (i) 
Greek  (i) 

Eng.  Lit.  (i,  2) 
Solid  Geom.  (%) 

French  (2) 

Latin  (i) 

Trigonometry  (j£) 

Greek  (2) 

History  (i) 

Adv.  Algebra  (^, 

Latin  (2) 

Physics  (i) 

!»  l^z) 

One  of  following  : 

J                   \    / 

Freehand      Draw- 

Ancient History  (2) 

ing  (i) 

Eng.  and  Am.  His- 

Mechanical Draw- 

tory (2) 

ing  (K) 

History  of  Europe 

Forge  Work  (#) 

(2)      ' 

History   of    a   Pe- 

Foundry Work  (X) 
Machine     Shop 

riod  (2) 

Work  (#) 

Astronomy  (i) 

Physics  (2) 

Meteorology  (i) 

R  means  required  of  all  candidates  for  admission. 

A — Candidate  may  offer  not  more  than  4  points  of  these  subjects. 

B — Not  more  than  2  points  may  be  offered. 

C — The  additional  2  points  in  German,  French,  and  Latin  are  in  ad- 
vanced study.  Two  points  are  required  of  every  candidate  in  one  of  these 
languages. 


io4  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [270 

(4),  a  modern  language  (2),  history  (2),  science  (2)  ,  besides 
English  (4),  and  elementary  mathematics  (5).  At  Harvard 
there  are  only  seven  points  in  which  there  is  absolutely  free 
choice. 

The  preceding  table  includes  the  lists  of  subjects  offered  by 
Harvard,  Columbia,  Michigan,  and  Leland  Stanford,  and  the 
rating  of  each  subject. 

From  the  table  above  it  will  be  seen  that  all  four  colleges 
prescribe  English ;  Columbia,  Harvard,  and  Michigan  prescribe 
elementary  mathematics  as  well;  and  Michigan  requires 
physics  and  one  language  of  all;  while  at  Harvard  all  candi- 
dates must  offer,  besides  English  and  elementary  mathematics, 
a  modern  language,  an  ancient  language,  some  branch  of  his- 
tory, and  a  branch  of  science. 

The  following  table  will  show  the  extent  of  flexibility 
afforded  by  the  point  system  in  six  of  the  largest  universities. 
In  this  table  a  point  is  intended  to  mean  approximately  a  year 
of  daily  recitations  in  a  subject,  and,  in  the  case  of  Harvard 
and  Nebraska,  where  a  point  means  a  half-year  study,  the 
numbers  have  been  divided  by  two. 

TABLE  XII. 

TABLE    SHOWING    THE    RELATIVE    DEGREES    OF    FLEXIBILITY    IN    SIX    LEADING 

UNIVERSITIES. 

R*  Of 

Harvard  University 9  4 

Columbia  University 6  9 

University  of  Michigan41 9  6 

University  of  Chicago iol/2  tf/2 

University   of   Nebraska 8J^  5^ 

Leland   Stanford  Junior  University 2  13 

*  R  means  number  of  prescribed  points  for  all  candidates. 

t  O  means  number  of  points  candidates  may  choose  without  restriction. 

Among  these  six  universities  the  average  number  of  pre- 
scribed points  in  which  the  candidate  has  free  choice  is  seven. 
It  is  evident  that  the  highest  degree  of  freedom  is  at  Leland 

41.  In  the  case  of  Michigan  only  seven  points  are  really  prescribed,  as 
the  other  two  points  may  be  selected  from  four  different  languages. 


27 1]  FLEXIBILITY  IN  REQUIREMENTS  105 

Stanford,  and  the  lowest  at  Chicago.  Moreover,  at  Chicago  the 
ten  and  one-half  points  are  positively  prescribed  for  all  candi- 
dates for  the  course  in  arts;  otherwise  the  student  must  enter 
another  course ;  and  there  is  no  option  between  Latin  and  Greek, 
or  between  modern  and  ancient  history,  as  at  Harvard  Uni- 
versity. 

During  less  than  thirty  years,  as  we  have  seen,  the  tendency 
in  college  admission  requirements  has  shifted  from  a  system 
of  almost  absolute  prescription  to  one  of  considerable  freedom. 
How  far  the  tendency  towards  electives  in  admission  require- 
ments should  go  is  for  both  the  college  and  the  preparatory 
school  more  than  a  question  of  convenience.  For  the  college  it 
means  a  change  in  the  character  of  the  A.  B.  course,  and  in  the 
traditional  conception  of  that  degree ;  and  the  aim  and  function 
of  the  secondary  school  is  also  involved.  The  general  adoption 
of  a  scheme  of  free  election  in  admission  requirements  can  fol- 
low only  after  the  traditional  significance  of  the  A.  B.  degree 
has  been  completely  revised — only  after  that  degree  no  longer 
means  that  all  who  receive  it  must  pass  through  the  same 
courses  of  studies  for  three-quarters  of  their  academic  career, 
but  when  simply,  as  President  Eliot  says,  "  all  Bachelors  of  Arts 
have  spent  from  seven  to  ten  years,  somewhere  between  the  ages 
of  twelve  and  twenty-three,  in  liberal  studies."42  For  the  sec- 
ondary school  free  election  in  admission  requirements  means 
that  that  important  part  of  our  educational  system  need  no 
longer  be  hampered  by  the  divided  aim  of  preparing  for  college 
and  preparing  for  life. 

This  leads  us  to  a  fundamental  thesis,  which  as  a  principle 
seems  axiomatic,  but  in  practice  is  frequently  ignored.  Each 
stage  of  a  system  of  public  education  should  have  a  distinct 
aim  and  function,  and  should  not  be  merely  a  stepping  stone 
to  something  higher.  Manifestly,  this  principle  applied  to  the 
field  of  secondary  education  would  mean  that  the  aim  of  the 
secondary  school  is  not  to  prepare  for  college.  Particularly 
is  this  so  in  the  case  of  the  public  high  school.  In  1900  from  all 
the  public  high  schools  in  the  United  States  61,737  students 

42.  Report  of  President  of  Harvard  University,  1884-85,  p.  49. 


io6  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [272 

graduated.  Of  these  only  30.28  per  cent,  were  prepared  for 
college.43  The  per  cent,  that  finally  entered  college 
was  certainly  much  lower.  In  other  words,  over  sev- 
enty per  cent,  of  high-school  graduates,  for  physio- 
logical, economic  or  other  reasons,  never  get  to  any  sort 
of  a  college.  Moreover,  of  the  519,251  students  enrolled  in 
public  high  schools  during  1899-1900  nearly  ninety  per  cent, 
were  not  preparing  for  either  classical  or  scientific  college. 
Upon  the  nee^dsj3jQl^s^^heu4d^e_aim  and  curriculum  of  the 
high  school  be  constructed.  These  should  be  given  the  best 
preparation  possible  for  complete  living  in  the  community. 
The  public  high  school  that  fails  to  perform  such  a  function 
adequately  does  not  deserve  the  right  to  exist.  According  to 
President  Eliot,  the  "  great  sin  of  our  public  high  schools  is  that 
they  give  an  inferior  course  of  instruction  to  those  children 
whose  education  is  to  be  the  shortest/'44  In  other  words,  we 
take  pains  with  those  who  are  going  to  college,  with  the  hope, 
perhaps,  that  they  may  reflect  credit  on  their  teachers;  and 
we  give  an  inferior  course  of  training  to  those  who  are  to  enter 
the  ranks  of  wage-earners  at  once,  and  whose  education  will 
end  with  the  high-school  course.  It  is  because  colleges  refuse 
to  admit  that  the  same  training  which  society  has  decided 
prepares  for  useful  citizenship  does  not  prepare  equally  well 
for  college,  that  these  conditions  prevail.  It  may  be,  however, 
that  the  demands  of  the  public,  as  represented  by  the  aim  of 
the  high  school,  and  the  demands  of  the  college  coincide;  if 
so,  well  and  good;  if  not,  the  trouble  is  with  the  requisitions 
of  the  college;  and  thence  must  come  the  concession.  And  it 
is  interesting  to  note  that  the  history  of  college  admission  re- 
quirements for  a  quarter  of  a  century  has  been  a  series  of 
concessions  to  the  high  schools. 

We  do  not  maintain  here  that  entrance  conditions  should  be 
so  lax  as  to  become  a  mere  pons  asinorum  for  the  indolent  and 
hopelessly  dull  pupils,  or  that  the  character  of  college  entrance 
requirements  should  be  determined  by  what  the  weakest  high 

43.  Report  of  Commissioner  of  Education,  1900,  pp.  2130  and  2137. 

44.  Educational  Review,  XIII.,  467. 


2.73]  FLEXIBILITY  IN  REQUIREMENTS  107 

schools  can  do;  nor  have  we  much  cause  for  apprehension  on 
this  score.  Our  historical  study  has  emphasized  the  fact  that 
the  very  cause  of  the  breach  between  the  high  school  and  the 
college  was  the  narrow  range  of  entrance  subjects  and  the  in- 
creasing demands  within  that  range.  Dr.  Harris  expressed 
some  of  the  truth  when  he  said :  "  Had  the  Latin  and  Greek 
requirements  remained  the  same  the  new  standard  of  admission 
would  have  fitted  the  course  of  study  of  the  public  high  school, 
and  the  problem  would  have  been  solved."  45  Many  colleges 
have  greatly  strengthened  the  high  schools  by  keeping  a  high 
standard  of  admission ;  but  they  have  hampered  them  more  by 
maintaining  a  narrow  means  of  ingress.  The  ideal  in  ad- 
mission requirements  is  a  wide  range  of  "flexibility,  togethefr 
with  a  reasonably^  high  standard~in_each  subject.  In  shortj 
the  scope  of  subjects  should  be  comprehensive  but  equally 
strong  at  all  points.  This  ideal  the  system  of  free  election  is  j 
well  calculated  to  attain. 

The  system  has  now  been  in  use  long  enough  in  any  con- 
siderable number  of  colleges  to  have  proved  its  efficiency. 
The  general  principle  is  sound.  There  are  several  details  in 
the  application,  however,  which  call  for  some  discussion.  The 
first  concerns  the  unit  of  valuation,  or  "  point."  By  this  system 
admission  subjects  are  rated  on  the  basis  of  time  spent  in 
secondary  schools  on  the  various  studies.  Of  course  this  is  only 
a  rough  valuation,  and  does  not  express  all  the  truth.  There 
is  often  little  correlation  between  the  time  spent  and  the  quality 
of  work  done.  Moreover,  to  determine  the  relative  weight  of 
subjects  for  admission  to  college  on  the  basis  of  the  relative 
worth  of  studies  would  result  only  in  an  endless  squabble.  For, 
to  determine  the  intrinsic  value  of  a  subject  necessitates  get- 
ting outside  the  subject,  approaching  it  from  the  point  of  view 
of  society,  and  applying  the  measure  of  social  worth,  which 
measure  is  naturally  an  uncertain  and  fluctuating  one.  The 
relative  value  of  studies  is  now  based  on  opinion,  simply.  And, 
for  want  of  a  more  reliable  standard  of  measure,  we  leave  this 
matter  out  of  consideration.  The  Committee  on  College  En- 

45.  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Education,  1892-93,  1466. 


io8  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [274. 

trance  Requirements  of  the  National  Educational  Association 
suggests  that  the  unit  of  measure  should  be  based  on  "  both 
the  quantity  and  quality  of  work  done."46  Doubtless  it  should ; 
but  with  no  national  system  of  secondary  education,  and  in 
view  of  the  uncertain  quality  which  exists  in  secondary  in- 
struction, we  shall  be  fortunate,  as  the  Committee  further 
suggests,  if  we  can  attain  to  a  general  agreement  on  a  time 
unit.  The  suggestion  of  the  committee  that  a  unit  should 
mean  four  periods  a  week  running  through  a  school  year  is  a 
good  one.  The  element  of  quality  will  be  tested  by  the  entrance 
examination. 

The  tendency  towards  unlimited  flexibility  is  another  question 
to  be  considered  in  connection  with  the  system  of  free  election. 
How  far  should  election  be  permitted?  Again  we  must  take 
the  position  of  the  secondary  school.  The  function  of 
secondary  education  is  evidently  the  determining  factor.  The 
period  of  secondary  education  cannot  be  determined  by  con- 
fining it  between  two  artificial  limits — the  elementary  school, 
on  the  one  hand,  and  the  college,  on  the  other.  As  Dr.  Butler 
says :  "  The  definition-makers  gravely  walk  about  in  a  circle 
when  they  define  secondary  as  that  which  succeeds  elementary 
and  precedes  higher  education,  and  elementary  education  as 
that  which  precedes  it."  47  The  period  of  secondary  educa- 
tion is  determined  by  another  consideration — the  nature  of  the 
child.  "  The  secondary-school  period,  then,  is  essentially  the 
period  of  adolescence."48  This  factor  determines  the  char- 
acter of  secondary  studies.  During  adolescence  the  youth  begins 
to  reflect;  he  becomes  seriously  concerned  about  himself  and 
his  future;  his  relation  to  society  occurs  to  him;  he  acquires 
new  and  divers  interests,  some  one  of  which  will  determine  his 
life  work;  in  short,  during  the  period  of  adolescence  he  finds 
himself.  The  school  should  assist  this  process,  therefore,  by 
supplying  a  wide  variety  of  intellectual  activities,  so  that,  when 
the  youth  is  ready  to  pass  on  to  his  trade  or  to  the  study  of  a 

46.  Proceedings  National  Educational  Association,  1899,  672. 

47.  Educational  Review,  XVI.,  16. 

48.  Ibid,  p.  17. 


275]  FLEXIBILITY  IN  REQUIREMENTS  109 

profession,  there  shall  be  no  mistake  as  to  wherein  lie  his 
special  powers.  The  secondary  school  fulfills  its  purpose, 
then,  only  when  it  affords  the  youth  "  an  introduction  to  many 
lines  of  knowledge  from  which  ultimately  may  emerge  the 
chosen  profession  and  genuine  culture."49  Foreign  languages, 
which  lead  to  an  acquaintance  with  the  thought  of  other 
nations ;  higher  mathematics,  which  unlock  the  science  of 
inorganic  things;  history,  which  vitalizes  the  past  and  fur- 
nishes standards  for  a  better  understanding  and  judgment  of 
present  social  problems;  literature  and  natural  science — each 
of  these  five  branches  of  knowledge  should  to  some  extent 
share  in  the  intellectual  equipment  of  the  graduate  of  a  sec- 
ondary school.  As  Dr.  Harris  says :  "  The  ideal  course  of 
study  demands  that  five  windows  of  the  soul  be  kept  open."  50 
We  conceive  the  function  of  secondary  education,  then,  to  be 
tm's:  to  furnish  the  youth  primarily  with  general  culture  as  a 
tasis  for  future  specialization.  Differentiation,  then,  rather 
than  specialization,  should  characterize  the  work  of 
the  secondary  school.  General  culture  need  not  be 
construed  to  imply  a  knowledge  of  certain  specific  studies,  like 
Latin,  Greek,  and  mathematics,  as  the  term  connoted  a  century 
ago;  but  it  means  a  fair  acquaintance  with  five  great  fields  of 
human  knowledge — the  vernacular  and  its  literature,  foreign 
languages,  and  their  literature,  mathematics,  history,  and  nat- 
ural science.  Be  it  understood  that  this  scheme  of  analysis  does 
not  intend  to  exclude  studies  for  expression,  like  music,  art, 
drawing,  and  manual  training,  so  far  as  they  are  not  technical 
in  character;  but  just  as  an  elementary  education  is  incomplete 
which  does  not  afford  a  working  knowledge  of  reading,  writ- 
ing, and  arithmetic,  so  a  secondary  education  is  defective  which 
does  not  embrace  to  some  extent  each  of  the  five  great  divisions 
of  intellectual  activity. 

The  period  of  secondary  education  is  not  necessarily  confined 
to  the  four  years  of  school  life  which  happen  to  fall  between 
the  elementary  school  and  the  college,  and  which  generally  com- 

49.  Abercrombie,  D.  W.,  School  Review,  1899,  420. 

.50.  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Education,  1892-93,  1462. 


no  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [276 

prise  the  period  of  the  public  high  school.  There  are  numerous 
overlappings.  The  first  two  years  in  most  of  our  colleges 
belong  to  the  period  of  secondary  education;  also  certain 
studies,  distinctly  secondary  in  character,  have  filtered  down 
into  the  upper  grade  of  the  elementary  school.  In  other  words, 
the  joints  in  our  educational  system,  because  of  the  unique 
position  of  the  college  and  the  public  high  school,  have  become 
dove-tailed.  Secondary  education,  per  se,  however,  stops  the 
moment  specialization  begins ;  and  that  time  may  be,  as  it 
usually  is,  about  the  middle  of  the  college  course ;  or  it  may  be, 
as  it  really  should,  at  the  close  of  the  high  school  course.  Dr. 
Russell,  speaking  of  the  upper  limit  of  the  secondary  period, 
says :  "  It  lasts  until  such  time  as  the  individual  is  able  to  take 
up  independent  work,  whether  it  be  in  domestic  life,  in  the 
trades,  in  business,  or  in  the  university." 51  The  confused 
state  of  secondary  education  in  this  country  is  due  to  the  fact 
that  tfie  scope  of  neither  the  college  nor  the  high  school  is  well 
defined.  Our  colleges,  for  the  most  part,  are  a  combination 
between  a  gymnasium  and  a  university;  and  our  high  schools 
do  only  a  part  of  the  work  which  belongs  to  their  field,  because 
of  the  fact  that  our  elementary  schools  require  about  two 
years  more  than  necessary  to  accomplish  the  work  which 
belongs  to  them. 

Having  stated  what  we  conceive  to  be  the  function  of  the 
secondary  school,  let  us  return  to  our  question :  How  far 
should  election  in  college  admission  requirements  be  permitted  ? 
It  is  necessary  at  this  point  to  introduce  another  fundamental 
thesis :  College  entrance  requirements  should  be  administered 
not  so  much  to  eliminate  undesirable  students  from  college  as 
to  vitalize  and  stimulate  the  work  of  the  secondary  school. 
The  influence  of  admission  requirements  should  be  positive 
rather  than  negative,  and  every  change  in  entrance  require- 
ments should  be  regarded  in  the  light  of  its  possible  effect  on 
the  secondary  school.  Let  us  consider,  now,  what  may  be  the 
probable  influence  of  unlimited  election  in  college  admission 
requirements.  Unrestricted  choice  from  a  miscellaneous  list 

51.  Russell,  James  E.,  School  Review,  IV.,  530. 


277]  FLEXIBILITY  IN  REQUIREMENTS  nr 

of  subjects  may  encourage  in  secondary  schools  one  of  two 
tendencies,  either  of  which  is  unhealthy.  Students,  par- 
ticularly those  who  are  going  on  to  college,  may  be  encouraged, 
on  the  one  hand,  to  immature  specialization,  or,  on  the  other,  to 
a  profitless  scattering  of  energies.  In  either  case  the  true 
purpose  of  secondary  education  is  to  some  extent  defeated. 
At  Leland  Stanford,  Jr.,  University  election  in  admission 
requirements  is  almost  entirely  free.  English  is  the  only  re- 
quired subject.  There  are  twenty-eight  additional  subjects, 
from  which  the  candidate  must  offer  thirteen  units,  with 
absolutely  no  restriction,  except  that  biology  may  not  be 
offered  if  botany  or  zoology  have  already  been  credited.  Every 
subject,  except  English,  is  on  the  free  list.  It  is  possible,  there- 
fore, for  a  student  to  enter  the  university  with  no  knowledge  of 
mathematics  and  science,  or  of  language  and  history,  or  of 
mathematics,  history  and  science.  In  other  words,  such  un- 
restricted election  encourages  a  student  to  enter  the  university 
without  having  touched  one,  two,  or  even  three  of  the  five 
great  fields  of  knowledge;  or,  as  Dr.  Harris  would  say,  the 
student  might  enter  the  university  with  three  "  windows  of 
the  soul "  closed.  In  other  words,  unrestricted  election  in 
college  admission  requirements  makes  specialization  possible 
without  general  culture.  To  employ  a  figure,  the  intellectual 
state  of  the  student  on  entering  college  may  be  likened  to  a 
needle  rather  than  a  pyramid.  It  will  be  readily  seen,  also, 
that  miscellaneous  election  from  a  miscellaneous  mass  of  sub- 
jects can  effect  a  scattering  of  energies  on  the  part  of  the 
student,  and  a  lack  of  thoroughness  at  any  point. 

The  present  Harvard  plan  of  admission  avoids  the  disad- 
vantages just  mentioned.52  It  not  only  affords  a  sufficient 
range  of  flexibility,  but  also  imposes  on  the  candidate  such 
an  organic  unity  of  choice  as  demands  a  good  degree  of  general 
culture.  Scattering  and  superficiality  are  also  prevented  by 
the  provision  that  every  candidate  must  present  at  least  four 
credits  in  advanced  studies.  In  short,  general  culture  is  en- 
couraged, on  the  one  hand,  and  some  degree  of  specialization,, 

52.  See  pages  96  and  97. 


I  12 


COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS 


[278 


on  the  other.  We  make  bold  at  this  point  to  suggest  a  scheme 
of  admission  requirements  which  coincides  with  our  conception 
of  the  aim  and  function  of  the  secondary  school. 


TABLE  XIII. 

SUGGESTED    PLAN    OF    ADMISSION    REQUIREMENTS. 

Sixteen  points  to  be  offered  in  all.     A  "  point "  represents  a 
pursued  for  one  year,  five  periods  a  week. 


study 


ELEMENTARY    STUDIES. 

Studies    must    be    selected    as 
follows:    5  points  in   languages. 
2  in  mathematics,  2  in  science, 
and  2  in  history. 

I 


POINTS. 


English 


II. 


Latin 3 

Greek  2 

French  2 

German   2 

Spanish I 

III. 

Algebra   1 

Geometry I 

IV. 

Physics i 

Chemistry  I 

Biology,  or  botany  and  zoology  I 

Geology I 

Physiography I 

Astronomy  and  meteorology..   I 
Anatomy,  physiology,  etc I 

V. 

Ancient   history 1 

American  history,  and  civics...   I 
English  and  modern  European 

history I 

Mediaeval  history I 

*  English  required  of  all. 


ADVANCED    STUDIES. 

Three    points    to    be    selected, 
two  only  from  any  group. 


POINTS. 


Latin 

Greek 

French  

German 
Anglo-Saxon 


II. 


Algebra   (advanced) I 

Solid  geometry  and  trigonom- 
etry     i 

III. 


Physics  . 
Chemistry 
Geology  . 


IV. 

Greek  and  Roman  history 

American  and  English  history. 

Modern  European  history 

History  of  a  period 

Political  economy 


279]  FLEXIBILITY  IN  REQUIREMENTS  n3 

Of  course  this  plan  is  simply  suggestive,  and  does  not  claim 
to  give  the  right  valuation  to  each  subject.     The  advantages 
which   this   scheme   does   claim   are   these :    ( I )    It  compels  a 
student  to  try  himself  in  all  the  five  great  fields  of  knowledge, 
in  order  to  determine  his  tastes.    (2)     It  insures  a  minimum,  at 
least,  of  general  culture.   (3)   It  provides  for  some  degree  of 
specialization,  at  least  within  certain  fields,  and  thereby  fore- 
stalls a  scattering  of  energies  by  compelling  the   student  to 
pursue  certain  subjects  beyond  the  elements.   (4)  On  the  other 
hand,  the  plan  prevents  extreme  specialization.   (5)   A  suffi- 
cient degree  of  flexibility  is  provided,  and,  at  the  same  time, 
organic  unity  of  selection  is  assured.     We  believe  that  such 
an  arrangement   will   provide  a  suitable  preparation  for  the 
student  who  is  going  either  to  college  or  to  scientific  school. 
The  boy  whose  schooling  is  to  stop  at  graduation  from  the 
high  school  can  substitute  for  advanced  studies  such  subjects 
as  bookkeeping,  stenography,  commercial  law,  or  such  forms  of 
manual  and  industrial  work  as  look  to  his  future  business  or 
trade.     Moreover,   the   important   issue   of   deciding   upon   a 
college  career  can  be  postponed  until  the  last  year  of  the  high- 
school  course. 

Anglo-Saxon  is  an  innovation  advisedly  introduced.  In  the 
first  place,  if  there  is  anything  in  linguistic  training,  Anglo- 
Saxon  is  equal  to  Latin  and  Greek  in  that  respect.  Secondly, 
students  who  ever  intend  to  pursue  the  study  of  the  English 
language  beyond  its  elements,  or  to  do  anything  in  philology, 
will  find  a  knowledge  of  Anglo-Saxon  indispensable ;  and  it  is 
much  easier  to  grasp  the  elements  of  that  language  in  youth 
than  after  the  mind  has  become  set  and  refuses  to  bend  readily 
to  the  acquisition  of  a  new  language.  Thirdly,  Anglo-Saxon, 
so  far  as  vocabulary,  grammar,  and  syntax  are  concerned,  is 
more  closely  related  to  our  modern  English  than  either  Latin 
or  Greek.  And,  fourthly,  the  Anglo-Saxon  language  com- 
prises a  somewhat  crude  but  a  na'ive  and  rather  extensive 
literature.53 

53.  Latin  Versus  the  Vernacular  in  Modern  Education,  by  Professor 
G.  R.  Carpenter,  is  an  excellent  article  on  this  subject.  Columbia  Uni- 
versity Quarterly,  June,  1901. 


H4  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [280 

It  may  be  said  of  the  scheme  proposed  that  it  endorses  both 
the  principle  of  formal  training  and  of  premature  specializa- 
tion. Be  it  so,  then  we  are  open  to  the  charge  of  inconsistency ; 
because  both  of  these  principles  have  been  opposed  in  this 
dissertation.  Does  not  the  plan  for  a  fivefold  division  really 
assume,  after  all,  that  what  is  wanted  of  a  candidate  for  college 
is  such  general  intellectual  power  as  would  come  from  the 
study  of  English  language,  mathematics,  science,  and  history? 
That  we  do  not  deny.  But  is  that  formal  discipline  in  the 
extreme  form  which  was  opposed  above?  The  theory  of 
formal  discipline,  as  it  has  been  employed  as  a  weapon  in 
defense  of  the  classics,  is  that  the  study  of  Greek  trains,  as 
nothing  else  can,  the  memory,  the  judgment,  power  of  dis- 
crimination, and  a  dozen  other  faculties,  which  training  has 
efficiency  in  other  entirely  unrelated  fields  of  intellectual 
activity.  We  simply  take  exceptions  to  the  claim  that  any  one 
subject,  in  itself,  can  afford  any  such  general  efficiency.  We 
are  inclined  to  accept  the  conclusions  of  later  psychological  re- 
search, which  points  clearly  to  the  fact  that  mental  powers  are 
rather  highly  specialized,  and  that  no  one  subject  can  afford 
all-round  intellectual  gymnastics.  Our  conviction  is,  however, 
that  the  thorough  study  of  several  branches  does  train  and 
strengthen  a  number  of  specific  memories,  judgments,  dis- 
criminations, if  the  plural  can  be  so  used,  the  aggregate  of 
which  is  general  mental  power.  And  the  stronger  this  intel- 
lectual efficiency  is  the  better  prepared  is  its  possessor  to 
succeed  in  lines  of  activity  which  are  similar  to  those  in  which 
his  training  operated.  Such  a  training  we  believe  to  be  a 
function  of  the  secondary  school.  Our  fivefold  division,  how- 
ever, has  another  more  important  purpose,  and  that  is  to  afford 
the  student  an  ample  scope  for  the  discovery  of  his  peculiar 
tastes.  It  also  is  intended  to  provide  for  such  general  culture 
as  comes  from  the  acquisition  of  the  valuable  information  con- 
tained in  the  five  large  divisions  of  knowledge. 

The  only  suggestion  in  our  scheme  of  premature  specializa- 
tion is  in  the  arrangement  of  advanced  subjects.  The  sugges- 
tion therein  made,  however,  is  simply  an  enunciation  of  a 


2.8 j]  FLEXIBILITY  IN  REQUIREMENTS  1I5 

principle  already  successfully  applied  at  Harvard,  Columbia, 
and  several  other  universities  in  the  vanguard  of  educational 
progress;  moreover,  it  is  in  line  with  the  recommendations  of 
the  Committee  on  College  Entrance  Requirements  of  the 
National  Educational  Association.  Our  scheme  especially 
precludes  narrow  specialization  by  permitting  only  two  points 
to  be  selected  from  any  group.  In  view  of  the  fact,  also,  that 
the  advanced  studies  would  necessarily  presuppose  correspond- 
ing elementary  studies,  specialization,  if  it  could  be  called  such, 
could  not  very  well  commence  before  the  last  year  of  the 
secondary  course.  The  plan  also  looks  to  future  rather  than 
to  present  educational  conditions.  It  recognizes  three  condi- 
tions, or,  rather,  inevitable  tendencies,  in  the  development  of 
higher  and  secondary  education :  First,  a  general  improvement 
in  secondary  schools  in  the  United  States,  together  with  a 
general  lengthening  of  the  secondary  period;  second,  a 
tendency  of  the  larger  colleges  to  become  universities  and  to. 
permit  some  specialization  from  the  start;  and,  third,  the 
present  advanced  age  of  students  on  entrance  into  college.  In 
fact,  graduates  of  good  high  schools  to-day  are  nearly  as  old  as 
were  college  sophomores  half  a  century  ago,  and  they  are  quite 
as  old  as  many  German  and  French  students  at  the  beginning 
of  their  university  career,  which  career  means  specialization  at 
once.  Now,  any  one  of  these  conditions,  and  certainly  all  three 
of  them,  not  only  makes  it  possible  for  the  college  to  require 
that  students  on  entering  shall  have  pursued  some  subjects 
beyond  the  elements,  but  also  makes  it  desirable  for  a  student 
of  eighteen  or  over  to  have  discovered  his  particular  bent,  and 
to  have  subjected  himself  to  a  thorough  trial  in  a  subject  or 
two  which  correspond  to  his  special  tastes.  And  that  is  all 
that  is  intended  by  the  scheme  of  advanced  studies.  We 
believe,  therefore,  that  the  scheme  of  admission  requirements 
proposed  will  insure  on  the  part  of  the  candidate  for  college  a 
fair  degree  of  general  culture,  and  also  special  efficiency  in  one 
or  two  lines,  which  are  an  index  of  his  special  bent,  which 
indicate,  to  some  extent, T^future^  career,  and  ~wEich  afford 
him  a  safe  core  around  which  to  shape  his  university  course. 


n6  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [282 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE    "  ACCREDITING    SYSTEM  " 

A  SECOND jneans  of  securing  closer  articulation  between  the 
colleges  and  the  secondary  schools,  particularly  the  public  high 
schools,  has  been  the  so-called  "  accrediting  system  "  of  ad- 
mission. Prior  to  1870  the  only  gate  to  the  college  was  some 
form  of  examination.  In  the  Calendar  of  the  University  of 
Michigan  for  1870-71  the  following  notice  was  issued  to  the 
preparatory  schools  of  the  State  of  Michigan :  "  Whenever  the 
Faculty  shall  be  satisfied  that  the  preparatory  course  in  any 
school  is  conducted  by  a  sufficient  number  of  competent  in- 
structors, and  has  been  brought  up  fully  to  the  foregoing  re- 
quirements, the  diploma  of  such  school,  certifying  that  the 
holder  has  completed  the  preparatory  course  and  sustained  the 
examination  in  the  same,  shall  entitle  the  candidate  to  be 
admitted  to  the  university  without  further  examination."1 
The  Calendar  for  the  succeeding  year  announced  that  a  "  com- 
mittee of  the  Faculty  will  visit,  once  every  year,  any  public 
high  school,  on  request  of  its  School  Board,  and  report  its 
condition  to  the  Faculty."  2  On  the  basis  of  this  report  the 
accrediting  of  the  school  depended.  The  establishment  of 
such  a  nexus  was  to  some  extent  a  realization  of  an  ambition 
which  had  been  uppermost  in  the  minds  of  the  founders  of  the 
university,  and  that  was  to  create  a  state  system  of  education 
similar  to  that  of  Prussia — an  educational  unity  from  the 
primary  school  through  the  university.  True  to  German  ideals, 
therefore,  the  abiturienten-examen  of  the  high  scliool,  as  it 
were,  was  accepted  as  a  passport  to  the  University  of  Michigan. 
At  this  point,  however,  the  resemblance  to  the  Prussian  system 
ceased.  The  diploma  system  of  admission  to  the  University  of 

1.  Page  49. 

2.  Calendar,  1871-72,  p.  27. 


283]  THE  "ACCREDITING  SYSTEM"  117 

Michigan  has  remained  in  substance  what  it  was  in  1872.  The 
system,  however,  has  had  a  marvelous  growth  and  a  very  exten- 
sive influence.  In  1876  there  were  only  nine  affiliated  high 
schools,  all  in  Michigan.  In  1885  tne  privilege  of  certification 
was  extended  to  schools  beyond  the  limits  of  the  State,  and  the 
term  of  certification  was  lengthened  to  three  years.3  By  the 
year  1899  tne  number  of  secondary  schools  privileged  to  send 
students  to  the  University  of  Michigan  on  diplomas  was  187, 
distributed  among  fifteen  different  States. 

A  system  of  admission  without  examination  patterned  after 
that  of  Michigan,  but  modified  to  meet  varying  conditions, 
was  promptly  adopted  by  other  colleges.  Since  1874  students 
have  been  admitted  to  Indiana  University  on  the  certificate  of 
certain  high  schools.  In  Indiana  schools  thus  privileged  were 
"  designated  and  commissioned  "  by  the  State  Board  of  Educa- 
tion. In  1879  the  University  of  Wisconsin  extended  to  high 
schools  in  the  State  the  privilege  of  sending  students  to  the 
university  without  examination.  The  accrediting  of  the 
schools  was  determined  in  the  following  way :  "  On ap- 
plication the  university  will  send  a  professor  to  examine  the 
courses  and  methods  of  instruction  in  the  school,  and  on  his 
favorable  report  will  enter  it  on  the  accredited  high  school 
list  of  the  university."4  Previous  to  this  time  (in  1872)  a  State 
law  was  passed  which  provided  for  the  admission  to  the  sub- 
freshman  class  of  such  students  as  could  pass  an  examination 
given  by  the  principals  of  graded  schools.5  The  accrediting 
system  was  introduced  at  the  University  of  California  in  1884 
by  the  following  resolution  of  the  Board  of  Regents :  "  Upon 
the  request  of  the  principal  of  any  public  school  in  California 
whose  course  of  study  embraces,  in  kind  and  extent,  the  sub- 
jects required  for  admission  to  any  college  of  the  university,  a 
committee  of  the  Faculty  will  visit  such  schools,  and  report 
upon  the  quality  of  the  instruction  there  given."6  Schools 

3.  Calendar,  1884-85,  p.  38. 

4.  Catalogue  of  the  University  of  Wisconsin,  1878-79,  46. 

5.  Catalogue,  1872-73,  65. 

6.  Register  of  University  of  California,  1883-84,  27. 


ii8  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [284 

reported  favorably  were  allowed  to  send  students  to 
the  university  upon  the  personal  or  written  recommendation  of 
the  principal.  /The  "  accrediting  system  "  of  admission  is  now 
the  prevailing  one  in  the  West,  especially  among  State  colleges. 
Various  modifications  of  this  system  have  been  adopted  in  all 
parts  of  the  country  by  all  sorts  of  institutions.  By  1897  there 
were  42  State  colleges  and  about  150  other  institutions  in  which 
some  form  of  a  certificating  system  of  admission  was  in  use. 

The  method  of  admission  just  described  is  more  accurately 
termed  the  "  diploma  system,"  and  it  deserves  to  be  distin- 
guished sharply  from  the  so-called  "  certificate  system,"  which, 
as  it  is  often  employed  in  Eastern  colleges,  is  no  system  at  all. 
The  difference  between  the  diploma  and  the  certificate  system 
lies  in  the  organic  connection  between  the  college  and  the  pre- 
paratory school.  The  diploma  system  at  its  best  involves  ( I )  a 
careful  examination  of  the  petitioning  school  by  university  offi- 
cials or  members  of  the  State  board  before  the  school  is  "  accred- 
ited;" (2)  subsequent  inspection  at  regular  intervals;  (3) 
enjoyment  of  the  privilege  for  a  limited  period;  (4)  the  fre- 
quent submission  to  the  university  of  an  accurate,  complete,  and 
faithful  report  of  the  work  of  the  high  school ;  (5)  the  possible 
revocation  of  the  privilege  of  certification  if  the  school  fails  to 
meet  the  stipulated  regulations  or  lowers  its  standards.  What 
is  herein  termed  the  certificate  system  does  not  possess  the  safe- 
guards of  inspection  and  periodic  visitation.  A  certain  prepara- 
tory school  on  its  repuation  for  being  a  "  good  school,"  or  be- 
cause its  principal  was  graduated  from  the  college  in  question, 
is  granted,  often  for  an  unlimited  period,  the  privilege  of  send- 
ing its  graduates  to  the  college  on  the  certificate  of  the  principal. 
The  determining  factors  are  the  generosity  of  the  college  and  the 
good  faith  of  the  school  principal.  Like  the  English  common 
law,  the  precedent  once  established,  the  thing  becomes  fixed  and 
then  grows.  The  certificate  system  without  a  thorough  and 
frequent  inspection  of  the  preparatory  schools,  with  no  safe- 
guard except  the  biased  judgment  and  self-interested  sincerity 
of  the  high-school  principal,  is  unsafe  at  its  best,  and  deserves 
no  further  consideration  at  this  point.  "  The  method  just 


285]  THE  "ACCREDITING  SYSTEM"  119 

described  (the  certificate  system)  "  says  President  Eliot,  "  is  a 
corruption,  or  degradation,  of  a  somewhat  safer  method  of 
securing  close  connection  between  secondary  schools  and  col- 
leges which  was  first  adopted  twenty  years  ago  by  the  Univer- 
sity of  Michigan."7  The  lowest  ebb  of  this  system  is  perhaps 
the  case  mentioned  by  Professor  Brown  where  "  students  bear- 
ing the  personal  certificates  of  a  former  teacher  concerning 
studies  satisfactorily  completed  will  be  given  credit  for 
the  work  they  have  done."8  The  diploma  system,  on  the  other 
hand,  while  it  has  some  disadvantages,  at  the  same  time 
possesses  some  genuine  merits. 

THe~  diplomaTsystem  is~now  the  prevailing  method  of  admis- 
sion among  the  State  colleges  of  the  West.  It  has  now  been  in 
use  long  enough  to  have  been  thoroughly  well  tried.  The  writer 
has  been  through  most  of  the  literature  on  the  subject  by  leading 
educators,  as  well  as  various  documents  of  colleges  in 
which  the  system  has  been  tried,  and  the  following 
are  the  chief  arguments  in  support  of  the  system :  ( I )  The 
diploma  system,  with  the  visitation  and  inspection  involved, 
brings  the  college  and  the  secondary  school  into  a  closer  recipro- 
cal relation.  The  benefits  derived  by  both  institutions  from 
such  a  constant  interrelation  are  many.  The  step  from  school 
to  college  is  less  obstructed  by  arbitrary  barriers,  and  the  whole 
educational  system,  therefore,  approaches  closer  to  a  unity.  The 
frequent  presence  of  college  officials  in  the  schools  stimulates 
the  schools  to  better  work,  encourages  teachers,  gives  school 
boards  some  valuable  professional  opinion  on  their  schools; 
and  often  students  are  encouraged  to  go  to  college  who  would 
not  otherwise  do  so.  Frequent  inspection  of  preparatory 
schools  by  college  officers  gives  the  latter  a  better  insight  into 
the  work  of  secondary  education,  and  a  consequent  interest  in 
and  appreciation  of  the  problems  in  that  field.  As  Dr.  Canfield 
•says,9  this  is  "  a  recognition  due  from  the  university  to 

7.  Educational  Reform,  214. 

8.  Secondary  Education,  monograph  No.  4,  in  Education  in  the  United 
States,  p.  26. 

9.  Canfield,  James  H.,  Educational  Review,  V.,  291. 


120  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [286 

f  workers  in  other  parts  of  the  field."  (2)  The  diploma 
method  is  regarded  by  many  as  the  most  adequate  and  the  fair- 
est test  of  a  student's  fitness  for  college.  It  is  most  adequate, 
because  the  decision  is  determined  by  the  carefully  preserved 
records  of  the  student's  work  for  a  period  of  four  years;  and 
it  is  fairest,  because  the  decision  falls  on  the  right  shoulders — 
on  the  master,  who  is  better  able  to  judge  of  a  boy's  capabilities 
than  a  stranger  in  a  higher  institution  whose  only  knowledge 
of  the  candidate  comes  from  an  examination  paper  written 
under  peculiarly  abnormal  conditions.  (3)  The  diploma 
method  is  also  fairer  to  those  not  going  to  college,  for  it  re- 
lieves teachers  from  devoting  an  ipordinate  amount  of  time  to 
coach  up  for  the  entrance  examination  the  few  who  are  going 
to  college ;  and  it  gives  teachers  an  opportunity  both  to  educate 
these  and  to  devote  proper  attention  to  the  deserving  majority. 
(4)  The  general  verdict  is  that  by  the  diploma  method  of 
admission  colleges  really  secure  a  better  grade  of  students.10 
The  disadvantages  of  the  diploma  system  as  it  is  now  man- 
aged are  these  :  ( I )  The  privilege  of  accrediting  can  be  easily 
abused  by  both  schools  and  colleges.  In  places  where  the  cer- 
tificate of  the  high-school  principal  is  necessary  in  addition  to 
the  diploma  the  importunities  of  parents  and  committeemen 
may  warp  the  judgment  of  the  principal.  (2)  Where  inspec- 
tion is  not  frequent,  schools  which  have  really  deteriorated  may 
be  retained  on  the  accredited  list.  (3)  Admission  by  diploma 
fosters  a  tendency  to  avoid  tests  of  accurate  scholarship. 
(4)  It -is  impossible  to  maintain  adequate  safeguards  about  the 
system  when  it  embraces  a  large  number  of  schools  at  long 
distances  away.  The  visits  of  the  faculty  cannot  be  frequent 
enough.  At  the  University  of  Michigan  inspection  formerly 
occurred  annually ;  now  it  occurs  only  once  in  three  years.  The 
examination  of  schools  is  not  searching  enough,  and  is  usually 
made  by  college  specialists  rather  than  by  men  familiar  with 
the  problems  of  the  secondary  school.  In  speaking  of  the  in- 
adequacy of  the  inspection  of  schools  where  the  diploma  sys- 
10.  Testimony  of  Cyrus  Northrop,  James  H.  Canfield,  C.  K.  Adams, 
B.  A.  Hinsdale. 


287]  THE  "ACCREDITING  SYSTEM"  121 

tern  is  at  its  best  President  Eliot  says :  "  I  went  into  a  Chicago 
school  and  spent  a  brief  time  in  a  number  of  recitations  here 
and  there  about  the  building.  On  leaving  I  was  asked  by  the 
principal,  '  Will  Harvard  take  my  certificate  ? '  When  I  an- 
swered that  I  had  been  there  too  short  a  time  to  know  anything 
about  the  school,  he  told  me  that  the  Michigan  professor  had 
been  there  even  a  shorter  time,  and  yet  his  certificate  was  re- 
ceived at  Ann  Arbor."11  (5)  The  proper  inspection  of  the 
school  entails  on  the  higher  institution  a  great  burden.  Prob- 
ably the  most  efficient  system  of  school  inspection  is  maintained 
by  the  University  of  California.  There  the  work  is  carried  on 
by  a  committee  representing  the  chief  departments  of  second- 
ary instruction — English,  Latin,  history,  mathematics,  and 
physics — and  each  school  is  visited  annually.  When  possible, 
professors  who  have  had  teaching  experience  in  secondary 
schools  are  sent.  The  California  system  has  more  safeguards 
than  any  other,  but  at  an  elaborate  expenditure  of  time  and 
money.  Professor  Brown  estimates  that  the  "  aggregate  of 
time  required  each  year  by  all  departments  for  the  purpose 
of  the  examination  of  schools  is  not  far  from  three  full  acad- 
emic years,"  and  that  there  is  an  "  approximate  total  cost  for 
services  and  traveling  expenses  of  between  $8,000  and  $9,000 
annually."  12  In  the  case  of  any  college  which  maintains  an 
extensive  accrediting  system,  and  attempts  to  conduct  it  in  a 
thorough  and  systematic  manner,  the  expense  is  considerable. 

Let  us  consider  a  little  further  the  arguments  for  the  diploma 
system,  particularly  the  second  and  fourth.  Those  who  main- 
tain that  admission  by  diploma  is  the  most  adequate  and  the 
fairest  test,  mean,  doubtless,  that  it  is  more  adequate  and  fairer 
than  the  entrance  examination  as  it  was  formerly,  and  is  even 
now,  frequently  conducted.  Nobody  denies  that.  The  college 
entrance  examination,  as  it  existed  a  decade  or  two  ago,  before 
there  was  any  general  agreement  among  colleges  as  to  what  it 

11.  Proceedings   of  the  New  England  Association   of  Colleges  and 
Preparatory  Schools,  1892,  33.  • 

12.  Secondary   Education,   monograph    No.   4,    in   Education   in    the 
United  States,  p.  28. 


122  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [288 

should  be  or  how  conducted,  when  each  institution  was  suf- 
ficient in  itself  and  was  an  absolute  dictator  among  a  small 
coterie  of  preparatory  schools,  when  the  examination  papers 
of  each  college  were  chiefly  bundles  of  the  eccentricities  of  one 
or  two  superanuated  professors,  full  of  tricks  and  puzzles, 
appealing  to  memory  and  guesswork,  then  the  entrance  exami- 
nation was  truly  an  abnormal  affair.  Our  study  of  the  history 
of  admission  requirements,  however,  has  shown  that  one  of 
the  prominent  tendencies  during  the  last  few  years  has  been  a 
change  in  the  character  and  conduct  of  the  entrance  exami- 
nation, so  that  many  of  its  former  objectionable  features  have 
been  eliminated.  Since  1886  school  and  college  associations 
have  been  endeavoring  to  secure  a  reasonable  uniformity.  The 
recent  organization  of  the  examining  board  of  the  Association 
of  the  Middle  States  to  some  extent  has  removed  the  affair 
from  the  hands  of  colleges  and  individual  professors.  Exami- 
nations are  gradually  becoming  tests  of  acquired  power  quite  as 
much  as  of  acquired  facts.  In  the  better  institutions  exami- 
nations are  divided  into  preliminary  and  final,  so  that  the  physi- 
cal and  mental  strain  is  not  nearly  so  severe  as  formerly.  The 
method  pursued  by  larger  colleges  of  conducting  examinations 
in  different  parts  of  the  country  saves  the  student  considerable 
trouble  and  expense.  An  able-bodied  boy  who  has  been  well 
prepared,  and  has  been  trained  to  think  independently, 
ought  not  to  fear  the  entrance  examination  as  it  is  now  con- 
ducted by  leading  colleges.  He  has  the  additional  assurance 
also  that  his  success  will  reflect  credit  on  his  teachers,  his 
school,  and  himself.  What  is  more,  the  feeling  of  confidence 
and  of  power  in  himself  which  comes  to  a  young  man  who 
successfully  overcomes  an  obstacle  like  an  entrance  exami- 
nation is  no  slight  advantage.  The  examination,  avoiding,  as 
it  does,  the  influences  of  the  personal  friendship  between  exam- 
iner and  examinee,  and  the  importunities  of  parents  and  friends, 
is  probably  as  fair  a  test  as  any.  The  late  Dr.  Bancroft,  princi- 
pal of  Phillips  Academy,  at  Andover,  Mass.,  who  had  a  wide 
experience  in  preparing  boys  for  college,  said :  '  The  modern 
methods  of  setting  examination  papers,  of  examining  and 


289]  THE  "ACCREDITING  SYSTEM"  123 

estimating  them,  of  recording  and  announcing  the  results,  are 
such  that  mistakes  are  few  in  number,  and  real  injustice  of  any 
magnitude  is  rare.  As  a  rule,  the  right  men  are  conditioned, 
and  in  the  right  subjects,  and  the  right  men  are  passed,  and  the 
right  credits  are  given."13  So  far  as  the  adequacy  and  fairness 
of  the  entrance  test  is  concerned,  it  matters  little  to  a  good 
school,  or  to  a  good  student  from  any  school,  whether  the 
method  of  admission  is  by  diploma  or  by  examination. 

The  fourth  argument,  that  better  students  are  secured  by  the  j 
diploma  system  of  admission,  is  probably  based  on  an  incorrect 
interpretation  of  data.  In  an  article  by  Lucy  M.  Salmon  on 
different  methods  of  admission  to  college  there  is  a  table  show- 
ing the  number  of  students  admitted  by  certificate  and  by  ex- 
amination to  twelve  colleges  in  iSgi.14  According  to  this  table, 
there  were  less  than  one-third  as  many  admitted  by  examination 
as  by  certificate.  That  was  ten  years  ago.  With  the  subse- 
quent spread  of  the  certificate  system  it  is  likely  that  the  pro- 
portion is  now  about  one  to  five.  The  small  number  of  students 
entered  by  examination  is  not  a  fair  basis  for  comparison,  espe- 
cially when  many  of  them  are  either  those  irregularly  prepared 
or  those  unable  to  receive  a  certificate  from  their  school.  The 
claim  that  the  diploma  method  of  admission  secures  better  stu- 
dents must,  therefore,  be  accepted  with  some  modifications. 

The  two  remaining  arguments  for  the  accrediting  system 
are  the  strongest,  and  on  these  the  merits  of  the  system  rest. 
That  this  system,  with  the  inspection,  visitation,  and  corre- 
spondence  it  involves,  does  bring  secondary  and  higher  educa-  r 
tion  into  closer  articulation  to  the  advantage  of  both  cannot  be 
denied.  Even  President  Eliot  concedes  this  point.15  Also,  the 
college  influences  the  entire  conduct  of  the  school  in  a  broader 
and  more  vital  way  than  by  an  examination,  the  chief  purpose 

13.  In  a  letter  to  Professor  Clifford  H.  Moore,  cited  in  School  Review, 
IV.,  314- 

14.  Educational  Review,  VI.,  234.     Unfortunately,  Miss  Salmon  has 
failed  to  give  the  source  of  these  statistics.    For  that  reason  the  table  is 
not  here  quoted. 

15.  Educational  Reform,  p.  216. 


i24  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [290 

of   which,  from  the  position  of  the  college,  is  to  prevent  un- 
promising material  from  obtaining  admission. 

An  equally  important  merit  of  the  diploma  system  is  that  it 
is  fairer  for  the  entire  school  than  the  examination  system. 
That  is  to  say,  with  the  college  examination  removed,  mere 
preparation  for  college  becomes  a  less  prominent  object.  Other 
than  preparatory  students  and  other  than  preparatory  subjects 
can  receive  their  share  of  attention.  In  this  respect  the  diploma 
system  has  encouraged  a  desirable  reform  in  admission  require- 
ments, from  the  point  of  view  of  the  public  high  school  at  any 
rate.  There  are  altogether  too  many  schools  in  this  country 
whose  aim  and  inspiration  come  exclusively  from  the  admis- 
sion examination  of  some  college.  It  is  a  nortorious  fact  that  in 
many  excellent  fitting  schools  non-preparatory  students  are 
intentionally  neglected.  Their  course  of  study  is  made  up  often 
of  scraps  of  subjects,  ill  taught,  lacking  in  continuity,  almost 
worthless  for  either  information  or  discipline. 

In  States  where  there  is  a  well-organized  and  efficiently  super- 
vised system  of  secondary  education  the  diploma  system  of 
admission  to  college  under  adequate  supervision  is  not  an  unde- 
sirable thing.  It  removes  an  artificial  barrier  between  the  high 
school  and  the  college,  and  thus  preserves  the  unity  of  a 
complete  scheme  of  public  education  from  the  kindergarten  to 
the  university.  As  a  method  for  general  adoption,  however, 
the  diploma  system  cannot  be  safely  recommended.  In  the  first 
place,  there  are  too  many  weak  colleges  in  the  United  States 
which  will  not  turn  away  an  applicant  for  admission  under  any 
considerations.  Secondly,  there  is  no  homogeneity  among  our 
secondary  schools.  Thirdly,  high-school  teachers  need  be  neither 
scholars  nor  college  graduates,  nor  are  they  appointed  with  suf- 
ficient care.16  When  we  can  be  sure  that  every  graduate  of  a 
secondary  school  has  spent  four  years  beyond  the  grammar 

16.  In  1898  of  519  secondary-school  principals  in  New  York  State 
only  51  per  cent,  were  college  graduates.  University  of  the  State  of 
New  York,  Report  of  the  Directors  for  1898,  337.  In  the  country  at 
large  the  percentage  of  high-school  principals  who  are  college  graduates 
is  probably  still  lower. 


291]  THE  " ACCREDITING   SYSTEM"  125 

school  in  liberal  study,  under  teachers  who  are  at  least  college 
graduates  and  chosen  with  care,  and  when  the  whole  system  of 
secondary  education  is  controlled  and  inspected  by  the  national 
government  or  by  mutual  agreement  among  colleges,  then  ad- 
mission to  college  by  diploma  as  a  general  policy  will  be  both 
safe  and  desirable.  A  national  board  for  the  inspection  of 
secondary  schools  would  effect  much  toward  leveling  up  and 
unifying  secondary  education,  and  eventually  clear  the  way  for 
the  general  adoption  of  a  uniform  and  national  system  of  cer- 
tification.* 

*  There  is  now  an  effort  being  made  by  the  New  Jersey  High  School 
Teachers'  Association  to  have  a  State  inspector  of  high  schools  ap- 
pointed. This  is  another  movement  in  the  direction  of  uniformity  in 
secondary  schools. 


126  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [292 


CHAPTER  V 

ATTEMPTS  OF  SCHOOL  AND  COLLEGE  ASSOCIATIONS  TO  PROMOTE 
UNIFORMITY    IN    COLLEGE    ADMISSION    REQUIREMENTS 

A  GLANCE  at  the  table  on  page  53  will  show  that  in  1870  there 
was  no  substantial  agreement  among  leading  colleges  as  to 
\vhat  subjects  and  how  much  should  be  required  for  admission 
to  the  A.  B.  course.  Greek,  Latin,  and  mathematics  were 
almost  universally  required  to  some  extent,  but  the  amounts 
and  character  of  the  requisition  varied  widely.  Beyond  these 
subjects  there  was  an  ill-defined  penumbra  wherein  no  uni- 
formity in  either  subjects  or  amounts  prevailed.  In  the  field 
of  uncertainty  were  geography — physical  and  descriptive;  his- 
tory— ancient  and  United  States,  and  English — grammar,  read- 
ing, and  composition.  With  the  development  of  parallel  courses 
diversity  in  admission  requirements  increased. 

Such  diversity  was,  of  course,  due  to  isolation  among  the 
colleges,  a  feeling  of  self-sufficiency,  and  a  consequent  lack  of 
any  unity  of  action.  Not  only  did  each  college  have  its  own 
set  of  admission  requirements  for  its  own  circle  of  preparatory 
schools,  but  also  one  professor  would  in  some  cases  control  for 
a  number  of  years  all  the  entrance  conditions  of  his  particular 
department.  Consequently,  the  idiosyncrasies  of  both  indi- 
vidual colleges  and  of  individual  professors  had  free  play. 
Some  weak  colleges,  especially  desirous  of  students,  had  low 
requirements  for  admission.  Others,  priding  themselves  on 
their  reputation  of  doing  thorough  work,  maintained  a  high 
standard.  In  some  colleges,  where  the  classics  were  considered 
of  unusual  importance,  the  terms  of  admission  in  Latin  and 
Greek  would  be  high,  and  for  the  same  reason,  perhaps,  the  re- 
quirements in  mathematics  for  admission  to  another  college 
would  be  high.  And  in  any  college  the  professor  of  a  particular 
department  might  be  a  man  of  influence  in  the  Faculty  and  sue- 


293]  ATTEMPTS   TO  PROMOTE   UNIFORMITY  127 

ceed  in  maintaining  a  high  standard  of  entrance  requirements 
in  his  own  subject.  Moreover,  in  many  cases  there  has  always 
been  a  wide  diversity  between  the  regulations  on  paper  and  the 
actual  enforcement  of  the  same. 

Such  diversity  in  admission  requirements  has  always  been 
a  source  of  perplexity  and  annoyance  to  secondary  schools. 
Schools  which  send  students  to  several  colleges  have  been  com- 
pelled to  maintain  more  classes  than  they  otherwise  would, 
because  the  several  colleges  failed  to  agree  on  any  policy  of 
admission  requirements,  and  petty  and  non-essential  differences 
were  insisted  on,  even  in  the  more  common  subjects.  In  1885 
Dr.  Bancroft,  the  late  principal  of  Phillips  Academy,  of 
Andover,  Mass.,  said :  "  Out  of  over  forty  boys  for  college 
next  year  we  have  over  twenty  senior  classes !  "*•  The  conse- 
quences for  the  preparatory  schools  were  (i)  additional 
expense,  (2)  numerous  small  classes,  (3)  irregular  and  super- 
ficial work,  and  (4)  an  unnecessary  amount  of  private  coach- 
ing, with  additional  trouble  for  the  teacher  and  expense  for  the 
student.  Only  schools  which  fitted  for  a  particular  college 
could  be  equipped  to  fulfill  such  conditions  with  any  facility. 
Of  course  the  worst  sufferer  from  diversity  in  college  entrance 
requirements  was  the  public  high  school,  because  of  the  pecu- 
liar function  of  that  institution. 

As  our  historical  discussion  has  shown,  at  the  close  of  the 
eighteenth  century  there  was  a  reasonably  good  degree  of  uni- 
formity in  admission  requirements.2  That  was  true,  in  fact, 
until  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century.  But  with  the 
development  of  parallel  courses,  and  the  extension  of  the  range 
of  entrance  subjects,  diversity  increased,  and  thus  another  fac- 
tor arose  to  widen  the  gap  between  the  school  and  the  college. 
Consequently  school  and  college  associations  were  formed, 
and  the  express  purpose  of  most  of  them,  and  a  prominent  issue 
with  all  of  them,  was  to  secure  a  better  degree  of  uniformity  in 
college  admission  requirements.  The  question  of  uniformity 

1.  Proceedings   of   the  New  England  Association   of   Colleges  and 
Preparatory  Schools,  1885,  12. 

2.  See  table,  page  39. 


128  COLLEGE   ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [294 

became  so  serious  an  issue  that  by  1897  there  were  twenty- 
three  college  and  other  educational  associations  at  work  on  the 
problem.3 

The  evils  resulting  from  diversity  in  admission  require- 
ments were  pointed  out  by  many  leading  educators  over  thirty 
years  ago,  and  the  remedy  often  suggested  was  an  agreement 
among  leading  colleges  on  a  uniform  standard.4  The  first 
definite  action  in  this  direction,  however,  was  made  by  a  con- 
ference of  New  England  colleges,  held  at  Trinity  College,  Hart- 
ford, in  December,  iSyg.5  At  this  conference  a  thorough  study 
of  the  examination  papers  of  several  colleges  was  made,  and 
the  embarrassing  diversities  of  practice  were  noted.  The  atten- 
tion of  this  conference  was  mainly  directed  to  the  subject  of 
English.  The  result  was  that  the  principle  of  the  Harvard  re- 
quirement was  adopted,  and  the  list  of  books  already  announced 
in  the  Harvard  catalogue  for  1881,  1882,  and  1883  was 
accepted.6  A  committee  was  also  appointed  to  make  up  lists 
for  subsequent  years.  The  result  was  practical  uniformity,  on 
paper  at  any  rate,  in  the  admission  requirements  in  English  to 
all  the  New  England  colleges,  with  the  exception  of  Yale.  Con- 
ferences were  also  held  in  1881  and  1882,  when  attempts  were 
made  to  make  entrance  requirements  in  the  classics  and  mathe- 
matics uniform,  on  paper  at  least.  The  result  was  a  fair  de- 
gree of  uniformity  in  the  stated  regulations  for  admission  to  the 
classical  course  in  the  following  colleges :  Harvard,  Yale, 
Brown,  Dartmouth,  Williams,  Trinity,  Amherst,  Wesleyan, 
Tufts,  and  Boston  University.  If  one  examines  the  catalogues 
of  any  two  of  these  colleges  for  1884  or  1885  ne  will  find  a 
striking  similarity  in  the  statements  of  entrance  conditions. 
The  influence  of  these  conferences  beyond  the  limits  of  New 

3.  Report  of  Commissioner  of  Education,  1896-97,  457. 

4.  Proceedings  of  the  National  Educational  Association,  1874,  45. 

5.  Report  of  President  of  Harvard  University,  1886-87,  5. 

6.  For  1881  the  list  comprised :     Shakespeare's  Hamlet,  and  Romeo 
and  Juliet;  first  two  books  of  Paradise  Lost;  Goldsmith's  She  Stoops  to 
Conquer,   Irving's  Life   of  Goldsmith,   Hawthorne's    Our  Old  Home, 
George  Eliot's  Silas  Marner,  Scott's  Abbot. — Catalogue  of  Harvard  Uni- 
versity, 1 880-81,  64. 


.295]  ATTEMPTS   TO  PROMOTE   UNIFORMITY  129 

England  are  not  clearly  traceable.  Their  chief  advantage  was 
that  they  brought  into  prominence  the  question  of  uniformity 
in  college  admission  requirements  and  stimulated  the  forma- 
tion of  several  permanent  organizations  in  different  parts  of 
the  country  for  the  mutual  interests  of  colleges  and  preparatory 
schools. 

The  parent  organization  of  this  character  was  the  New 
England  Association  of  Colleges  and  Preparatory  Schools. 
This  association  was  established  at  Boston  in  1885.  Its  object 
was  "  the  advancement  of  the  cause  of  liberal  education  by  the 
promotion  of  interests  common  to  college  and  preparatory 
schools."  7  Out  of  the  association  grew,  in  1886,  the  Com- 
mission of  Colleges  in  New  England  on  Entrance  Examina- 
tions. All  the  New  England  colleges,  except  five,  united  in  the 
formation  of  this  commission.  Its  object  was  "  to  devise  means 
for  securing  greater  uniformity  in  college  admission  examina- 
tions." 8  The  second  organization  of  this  character  was  the 
Association  of  Colleges  and  Preparatory  Schools  in  the  Middle 
States  and  Maryland.  This  organization  grew  out  of  the 
College  Association  of  Pennsylvania,  established  in  1887,  and 
extended  to  include  the  colleges  of  Maryland  a  year  later. 
The  present  name  and  constitution  of  this  association  were 
adopted  in  1892.  The  chief  object  of  the  organization  since 
its  establishment  in  1887  has  been  "to  consider  the  qualifica- 
tions for  candidates  for  admission  to  the  colleges  and  the 
methods  of  admission."  9  Other  important  organizations  are 
the  Association  of  Colleges  and  Preparatory  Schools  of  the 
Southern  States,  organized  at  Atlanta,  November  6,  1895,  with 
an  object  stated  similar  to  that  of  the  Association  of  the  Middle 
States ;  and  the  North  Central  States  Association  of  Colleges 
and  Secondary  Schools,  organized  in  the  same  year  for  the 

7.  Official  Report  of  the  second  annual  meeting,  October  29,   1887, 
p.  7. 

8.  Report  of  special  meeting  of  New  England  Association,  January  7 
and  8,  1887;  Proceedings,  1887,  p.  37. 

9.  Proceedings  of  first  annual  convention  of  College  Association  of 
Pennsylvania,  1887-88,  18. 


130  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [296 

purpose  of  establishing  "  closer  relations  between  the  colleges 
and  the  secondary  schools  of  the  North  Central  States."  10 
These  four  organizations,  with  the  committee  of  ten  on  sec- 
ondary-school studies,  and  the  committee  on  college  entrance 
requirements  of  the  National  Educational  Association,  have 
been  the  most  influential  in  securing  uniformity  in  admission 
requirements. 

The  first  tangible  results,  beyond  those  local  ones  secured 
by  the  early  conferences  of  New  England  colleges,  were  the 
uniform  requirements  in  English,  recommended  by  the  Com- 
mission of  New  England  Colleges  in  1888.  These  recommen- 
dations were  simply  the  crystallization  and  further  extension  of 
certain  practices  which  were  already  existing  in  a  few  institu- 
tions.11 The  uniform  requirements  were  promptly  adopted  by 
nearly  all  New  England  colleges.  In  1894,  under  the  auspices 
of  the  Association  of  the  Middle  States  and  Maryland,  a  com- 
mittee, consisting  of  ten  from  that  association,  and  five  from 
the  New  England  association,  further  revised  the  uniform 
English  requirements.  The  recommendations  made  by  the 
joint  committee  within  three  years  had  been  indorsed  by  eighty- 
seven  colleges  in  the  United  States.12 

The  earliest  attempt  at  uniformity  of  national  significance 
was  the  work  of  the  "  Committee  of  Ten  "  appointed  by  the 
National  Educational  Association  in  1892.  This  committee 
was  appointed  in  response  to  the  suggestion  of  a  committee  of 
the  National  Council,  which  had  been  appointed  two  years 
before  to  consider  uniformity  in  admission  requirements.  The 
report  of  this  preliminary  committee  demonstrated  that,  not- 
withstanding the  agitation  which  the  subject  of  admission  re- 
quirements had  been  receiving  for  over  a  decade,  the  only 

10.  Proceedings  of  the  North  Central  States  Association,  1895,  p.  8. 

11.  The  books  recommended  and  the  nature  of  the  requisitions  can  be 
found  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  New  England  Association  for  1888, 
and  subsequent  lists  can  be  found  in  the  catalogues  of  almost  any  lead- 
ing college.    The  Harvard  system  has  already  been  discussed.     His- 
torical Discussion,  pp.  71-72. 

12.  Report  of  Commissioner  of  Education,  1896-97,  457- 


297]  ATTEMPTS   TO  PROMOTE   UNIFORMITY  131 

results  thus  far  secured  had  been  State  or  local.  The  report 
presented  a  list  of  variations  from  a  common  standard  of  ad- 
mission that  could  be  selected  at  random  from  the  catalogues 
of  leading  colleges.13  The  committee  recognized  the  neces- 
sity, accordingly,  of  organizing  a  movement  toward  securing 
national  uniformity,  and  recommended  the  appointment  of  a 
committee  representing  colleges  and  preparatory  schools, 
whose  aim  should  be  to  suggest  plans  for  securing  a  better  de- 
gree of  uniformity  in  school  programs  and  in  the  requirements 
for  admission  to  college. 

Although  a  prominent  object  of  the  Committee  of  Ten 
was  to  secure  a  better  degree  of  uniformity  in  college  entrance 
requirements,  yet  they  did  not  confine  their  attention  to  the 
details  of  adjustment  between  colleges  and  secondary  schools. 
They  attacked  the  phase  of  the  problem  which  at  that  time 
demanded  the  most  serious  consideration.  Their  attention  was 
devoted  to  a  leveling  up  of  secondary  schools  by  the  enuncia- 
tion of  certain  educational  principles  which  should  underlie  the  / 
course  of  instruction.  The  committee  wisely  proceeded  on  the 
principle  that  uniformity  in  admission  requirements  can  follow 
only  after  the  colleges  have  a  sound  basis  upon  which  to  build 
— that  is,  a  uniform  standard  of  secondary  school  work.  Ac- 
cordingly, nine  sub-committees  were  appointed  to  examine  the 
prevailing  practices  in  secondary  schools,  and  to  make  recom- 
mendations as  to  the  content  and  methods  of  the  common 
secondary  subjects.  Four  suggestive  programs  were  then 

13.  Variations  from  common  standard  existing  in  1891 : 

Mathematics — Solid  Geometry,  Euclid,  University  Algebra. 

Latin — Eight  books  of  yEneid,  six  books  of  Caesar,  Eclogues,  Georgics, 
Ovid,  Sallust,  excess  of  sight  reading. 

Greek — Four  books  of  Iliad,  excess  of  sight  reading. 

History,  etc. — Bible  History,  Ancient  Geography  as  a  special  study. 

French — Not  required  by  some  colleges. 

Science — Not  required  by  some  colleges.     When  required  the  varia- 
tions run  nearly  through  the  list  of  sciences. 

English — Not  required  by  some  colleges.     When  required  there  are 
troublesome  variations. 

— Proceedings  of  the  National  Educational  Association,  1891,  31-1. 


132  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [298 

drawn  up,  each  requiring  twenty  periods  a  week  for  four  years, 
and  so  arranged  that  any  thoroughgoing  secondary  school 
could  maintain  some  one  of  them  with  the  resources  at  its 
command.  The  committee  further  recommended  that  the 
character  of  instruction  should  be  the  same  for  students  going 
to  college  as  for  those  whose  schooling  is  to  end  at  the  close 
of  the  high-school  course;  that  each  study  should  be  pursued 
consecutively  enough  and  thoroughly  enough  to  yield  the  train- 
ing it  is  calculated  to  give;  that  all  the  main  subjects  thus 
treated  might  be  regarded  "  of  equal  rank  for  the  purposes  of 
admission  to  college  or  scientific  school ;  "  that  every  school 
program  should  provide  for  continuous  instruction  in  the  four 
main  fields  of  knowledge — language  (including  English), 
mathematics,  history,  and  science — in  order  that  every  student 
may  "  exhibit  his  quality  and  discover  his  tastes,"  and  that  "  the 
satisfactory  completion  of  any  one  of  the  four-year  courses  of 
study  embodied  in  the  foregoing  program  should  admit  to 
corresponding  courses  in  colleges  and  scientific  schools." 14 
The  chief  contribution  of  the  report  of  the  Committee  of 
Ten  to  the  problem  of  uniformity  in  college  admission  re- 
quirements was  that  it  provided  a  means  whereby  secondary 
schools  could,  with  the  resources  already  at  their  command, 
rise  to  a  common  standard  of  excellence.  The  question  re- 
maining was :  How  shall  the  colleges  adjust  their  requirements 
to  the  conditions  in  the  secondary  schools  ?  This  question  has 
been  answered  by  the  independent  action  of  a  few  progressive 
colleges,  by  the  recommendations  of  the  "  Committee  on  Col- 
lege Admission  Requirements,"  and  by  the  formation  of  the 
College  Entrance  Examination  Board  of  the  Middle  States 
and  Maryland. 

The  Committee  on  College-Entrance  Requirements  was  ap- 
pointed at  the  Denver  meeting-  of  the  National  Educational 
Association  in  1895.  The  formation  of  such  committee  was 
the  result  of  a  paper  read  by  Professor  William  Carey  Jones 
on  "  What  Action  Ought  to  be  Taken  by  Universities  and 
Secondary  Schools  to  Promote  the  Introduction  of  the  Pro- 

14.  Report  of  the  Committee  on  Secondary  School  Studies,  p.  53. 


•ft*  if 


299]  ATTEMPTS   TO  PROMOTE   UNIFORMITY  133 

grams  Recommended  by  the  Committee  of  Ten  ?  "  15  The  plan 
of  work  outlined  for  this  committee  in  1896  was  (i)  the  in- 
vestigation of  existing  entrance  conditions,  and  (2)  the 
"  recommendation  of  ways  and  means  of  securing  such  uni- 
formity in  extent  and  method  as  will  be  conducive  to  the  best 
interests  both  of  higher  and  of  secondary  education."  It  is 
not  necessary  to  discuss  the  organization  of  this  committee 
further  than  to  say  that  it  consisted  of  a  general  committee  of 
twelve  and  sub-committees  representing  each  of  the  ordinary 
secondary-school  subjects. 

The  first  work  of  the  committee  was  to  consider  the  existing 
conditions  in  college  admission  requirements.  The  entrance 
terms  of  sixty-seven  leading  colleges  were  collected  and 
tabulated;  and  in  the  selection  of  institutions  it  was  intended 
(a)  to  cover  all  sections  of  the  country,  and  (b)  to  include  all 
types.16  The  tabulated  statements  were  presented  in  the  pre- 
liminary report  of  1896,  and  they  are  valuable  as  showing  the 
degree  of  diversity  in  college  entrance  requirements  that  then 
existed,  and  the  imperative  demand  for  some  sort  of  national 
procedure  for  the  relief  of  the  preparatory  schools.  The  final 
report  was  submitted  in  1899,  and  it  was  the  result  of  four 
years  of  thorough  study  and  frequent  conferences.  The  fact 
that  this  report  was  the  result  of  the  consensus  of  the  opinion 
of  nearly  one  hundred  and  fifty  experts  in  the  field  of  secondary 
and  higher  education  gives  it  a  value  unprecedented. 

The  convictions  and  conclusions  of  the  general  committee 
were  set  forth  in  fourteen  resolutions.  These  are  as  follows : 

"  I.  Resolved,  That  the  principle  of  election  be  recognized 
in  secondary  schools. 

"  II.  Resolved,  That  the  requirements  for  admission  to 
technical  schools  should  be  as  extended  and  thoro  as  the  re- 
quirements for  admission  to  college. 

"  III.  Resolved,  That  the  teachers  in  the  secondary  schools 

15.  Proceedings  of  the  National  Educational  Association,  1896,  558. 

16.  These  tables  can  be  found  in  the  School  Review  for  1896,  341. 


134  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [300 

should  be  college  graduates,  or  have  the  equivalent  of  a  college 
education. 

"  IV.  Resolved,  That  we  favor  a  unified  six-year  high- 
school  course  of  study,  beginning  with  the  seventh  grade. 

"  V.  Resolved,  That  in  the  interpretation  of  the  recommen- 
dations of  this  committee  concerning  the  subjects  to  be  included 
in  the  secondary-school  program  and  the  requirements  for 
admission  to  college,  for  which  credit  should  be  given,  it  is 
distinctly  understood  that  all  secondary  schools  will  not  offer 
opportunities  for  the  pursuit  of  all  these  subjects,  and  that  the 
colleges  will  select  those  only  which  they  deem  wise  and 
appropriate. 

"VI.  Resolved,  That,  while  the  committee  recognizes  as 
suitable  for  recommendation  by  the  colleges  for  admission  the 
several  studies  enumerated  in  this  report,  and  while  it  also  recog- 
nizes the  principle  of  large  liberty  to  the  students  in  secondary 
schools,  it  does  not  believe  in  unlimited  election,  but  especially 
emphasizes  the  importance  of  a  certain  number  of  constants  in 
all  secondary  schools  and  in  all  requirements  for  admission  to 
college. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  committee  recommends  that  the  num- 
ber of  constants  be  recognized  in  the  following  proportion, 
namely :  four  units  in  foreign  language  ( no  language  accepted 
in  less  than  two  units),  two  units  in  mathematics,  two  in 
English,  one  in  history,  and  one  in  science. 

"  VII.  Resolved,  That  the  colleges  will  aid  the  secondary 
schools  by  allowing  credit  toward  a  degree  for  work  done  in 
secondary  schools,  beyond  the  amount  required  for  entrance, 
when  equal  in  amount  and  thoroness  to  work  done  in  the 
same  subjects  in  college. 

"  VIII.  Resolved,  That  for  students  who  have  met  a  definite 
requirement  in  any  science,  and  who  continue  the  subject  in 
college,  it  seems  to  us  desirable  that  there  be  provided  a 
suitable  sequel  to  the  school  course  in  continuation  of  the  study ; 
such  students  being  in  no  case  placed  in  the  same  class  with 
beginners. 

"  IX.  Resolved,    That   we   approve   of   encouraging   gifted 


ATTEMPTS   TO  PROMOTE   UNIFORMITY  135 

students  to  complete  the  preparatory  course  in  less  time  than 
is  required  by  most  students. 

"  X.  Resolved,  That  in  general  we  recognize  in  schools  the 
admissibility  of  a  second  year  in  advanced  work  in  the  same 
subject,  instead  of  a  second  year  in  a  related  subject.;  for 
example,  two  years  in  biology  instead  of  one  year  in  biology 
and  one  year  in  chemistry,  where  local  conditions  favor  such 
an  arrangement. 

"  XI.  Resolved,  That  it  is  desirable  that  colleges  should 
accept,  in  addition  to  the  year  of  United  States  history  and  civil 
government  already  recommended,  at  least  one  half-year  of 
intensive  study  of  some  period  of  history,  especially  of  the 
United  States. 

"  XII.  Resolved,  That  we  recommend  that  any  piece  of  work 
comprehended  within  the  studies  included  in  this  report  that 
has  covered  at  least  one  year  of  four  periods  a  week  in  a  well- 
equipped  secondary  school  under  competent  instruction  should 
foe  considered  worthy  to  count  toward  admission  to  college. 

"  XIII.  Resolved,  That  it  is  desirable  that  our  colleges  and 
universities  should  accept  as  a  unit  for  admission  a  year's  work 
in  economics,  including  under  this  head  a  course  in  elementary 
political  economy,  supplemented  by  adequate  instruction  in 
commercial  geography  and  industrial  history. 

"  XIV.  Resolved,  That  we  recommend  an  increase  in  the 
school  day  in  secondary  schools,  to  permit  a  larger  amount  of 
study  in  school  under  school  supervision.'* 

The  work  of  the  Committee  on  College-Entrance  Require- 
ments is  of  utmost  importance  for  five  reasons :  ( I )  It  sup- 
plemented and  applied  the  work  of  the  Committee  of  Ten,  and 
thus  lent  additional  significance  to  both  reports;  (2)  it  met 
squarely  the  problem  of  admission  requirements  for  the  first 
time  from  a  national  point  of  view;  (3)  it  took  cognizance  of 
existing  conditions,  and  crystallized  into  workable  principles 
what  is  best  in  current  practice;  (4)  it  arrived  at  conclusions 
which  are  national  and  everywhere  practicable,  and  (5)  it 
enlisted  the  services  of  the  best  thinkers  and  actors  in  the  field 


136  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [302. 

of  education.  The  almost  universal  approval  with  which  the 
report  has  been  received  both  testifies  to  the  sanity  of  the  report 
and  augurs  well  for  its  future  usefulness.  The  absence  of  any 
considerable  amount  of  adverse  criticism  may  be  due  to  the  fact 
that  there  is  nothing  novel  in  a  national  report  of  this  char- 
acter, or,  what  is  more  likely,  to  the  fact  that  the  resolutions 
of  the  committee  are  in  harmony  with  the  latest  educational 
ideas.  The  most  appropriate  criticism  that  can  be  made  on  the 
report  in  general  is  silent  approbation.  Several  of  the  resolu- 
tions, however,  call  for  separate  discussion. 

We  wish  to  consider  especially  resolutions  L,  III.,  VI.,  and 
XII.  The  first  resolution,  "  That  the  principle  of  election  be 
recognized  in  secondary  schools,"  is  simply  the  endorsement 
of  a  practice  already  in  vogue  in  most  large  and  progressive 
high  schools.  This  practice  is  not  only  healthy,  in  view  of  the 
differing  tastes  of  boys,  but  it  is  also  necessary.  It  is  neces- 
sary because  of  the  constantly  increasing  demands  of  both 
college  and  public.  In  order  to  keep  abreast  of  intellectual 
progress,  and  to  encompass  at  all  adequately  the  widening 
range  of  knowledge,  colleges  were  compelled,  half  a  century 
ago,  to  adopt  the  elective  system.  And,  as  we  have  frequently 
noticed,  a  tendency  once  started  in  the  college  is  bound  to 
percolate  down  into  the  lower  strata  of  the  educational  system. 
High  schools,  at  the  same  time,  have  had  to  yield  to  the  pressure 
of  the  social  demand  for  a  broader  range  of  studies,  particularly 
of  an  industrial,  commercial,  and  scientific  character.  The 
question,  therefore,  is  no  longer  whether  the  principle  of  elec- 
tion should  obtain  in  the  secondary  school,  but  how  and  to 
what  extent  it  should  be  pursued.  The  question  is  met  by  the 
sixth  resolution  of  the  committee.  While  the  committee 
*'  recognizes  the  principle  of  large  liberty  to  the  students  in 
secondary  schools,  it  does  not  believe  in  unlimited  election,  but 
especially  emphasizes  the  importance  of  a  certain  number  of 
constants  in  all  secondary  schools."  The  position  of  the  com- 
mittee is  wise,  in  view  of  the  youth  and  instability  of  high- 
school  pupils.  Instead  of  permitting  a  boy  to  choose  at  ran- 
dom from  a  miscellaneous  mass  of  unrelated  subjects,  they 


303]  ATTEMPTS   TO  PROMOTE   UNIFORMITY  137 

recommend    choice  within    certain    correlated  groups.     These       J 
groups,  as  well  as  the  principle  involved,  closely  harmonize 
with  a  thesis  already  discussed  in  this  paper.     The  ideal  in  elec- 
tion, in  view  of  existing  conditions,  is  elasticity  with  organic 
unity. 

The  third  recommendation,  "  That  the  teachers  in  the  sec- 
ondary schools  should  be  college  graduates,  or  have  the  equiv- 
alent of  a  college  education,"  ought  to  be  almost  axiomatic. 
Considerably  more  than  a  college  education  is  required  of  all 
teachers  in  the  secondary  schools  of  Germany.  But  in  New 
York,  one  of  our  leading  States  educationally,  only  fifty-one 
per  cent,  of  the  secondary  school  principals  even  are  college 
graduates.17  The  recommendation,  therefore,  is  not  a  mere 
platitude  to  which  all  assent.  In  view  of  actual  conditions, 
it  is  as  advanced  and  radical  as  almost  anything  the  committee 
suggests.  Before  we  can  expect  any  general  improvement  in 
the  secondary  schools  we  must  have  better  equipped  teachers. 
Quite  as  much  depends  upon  the  quality  of  the  teacher  as  upon 
the  subject  studied.  The  statement  of  President  Garfield,  that, 
so  far  as  he  was  concerned,  a  log  with  himself  on  one  end  and 
Mark  Hopkins  on  the  other  might  serve  all  the  purposes  of  a 
college,  involved  a  fundamental  truth.  Doubtless  much  of  the 
disciplinary  value  attributed  to  the  classics  in  the  past  was  due 
quite  as  much  to  the  fact  that  those  subjects  were  better  taught 
than  those  of  more  recent  introduction  as  that  they  had  any 
greater  intrinsic  power  to  strengthen  the  mind.  The  com- 
mittee might  well  have  added  to  this  excellent  recommendation, 
also,  that  teachers  in  the  secondary  schools  be  professionally 
trained. 

The  twelfth  recommendation  is  simply  an  endorsement  of 
the  principle  of  free  election  in  admission  requirements,  which 
has  already  been  discussed.  It  puts  all  subjects  on  an  equality 
so  far  as  their  relative  value  in  admission  requirements  is  con- 
cerned. It  makes  no  unfair  discrimination  in  favor  of  the 
classics,  or  of  mathematics,  but  proceeds  on  the  principle  that 
all  standard  subjects  well  taught  for  the  same  length  of  time 

17.  See  page  124,  note   16. 


138  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [304 

in  any  good  secondary  school  should  be  of  equal  weight  in 
determining  a  student's  fitness  for  a  college  course.  The  ob- 
jection may  be  raised  that  technical  and  industrial  subjects  are 
not  included  in  the  resolution.  The  omission  is  due  to  the  fact 
that  no  conferences  were  held  in  those  subjects ;  the  committee 
was  mainly  concerned  with  the  ordinary  college  entrance  sub- 
jects; for  the  difficulty  of  diversity  has  been  chiefly  in  connec- 
tion with  these.  The  action  of  the  committee  in  this  respect 
cannot  be  construed  to  mean  a  discrimination  in  favor  of  the 
subjects  represented  in  the  report.  The  resolution  would 
doubtless  apply  as  well  to  industrial  and  technical  studies,  so 
far  as  they  count  for  admission  to  technical  and  industrial 
institutions.  This  recommendation,  as  well  as  several  others  of 
the  committee,  places  considerable  responsibility  upon  secondary 
schools.  This  attitude  is  certainly  commendable.  It  is  a  recogni- 
tion which  is  due  to  the  improvement  taking  place  everywhere 
in  secondary  education ;  and  confidence  thus  placed  in  the  work 
of  the  schools  can  prove  a  powerful  incentive  to  such  improve- 
ment. Too  long  have  the  colleges  regarded  the  secondary 
schools,  particularly  the  public  high  schools,  as  able  to  prepare 
only  a  few  students  in  only  a  few  subjects.  Mr.  Samuel  Thur- 
foer,  in  a  discussion  of  this  report,  says :  "  What  the  college  now 
by  its  prescriptions  gets  is  the  result  of  certain  narrowly 
specified  teachings,  whose  main  feature  has  usually  been  the 
practice  of  a  severe  economy  of  effort  in  excluding  all  subjects 
of  thought  that  will  not  tell  in  a  momentary  test/' 18  The  en- 
dorsement of  the  twelfth  recommendation  by  the  colleges  would 
mean  that  all  subjects  in  good  high  schools  receive  equal 
recognition  in  admission  requirements. 

The  committee  make  a  careful  distinction  between  the  terms 
program,  curriculum,  and  course  of  study.  In  the  report 
these  terms  have  the  following  connotation  :  ( i )  Program  of 
studies  includes  all  the  studies  in  a  given  school,  (2)  curri- 
culum means  the  group  of  studies  arranged  for  any  pupil  or 
set  of  pupils,  (3)  course  of  study  means  the  quantity,  quality, 
and  method  of  work  in  any  given  subject  of  instruction.  The 

18.  School  Review,  VII.,  399. 


305]  ATTEMPTS   TO  PROMOTE   UNIFORMITY  ,39 

most  valuable  part  of  the  report  bears  upon  the  course  of  study. 
A  criticism  frequently  urged  against  the  report  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  Ten  was  that  it  suggested  programs  which  were 
impracticable  in  many  places.  The  Committee  on  College 
Entrance  Requirements  did  not  attempt  to  construct  programs, 
or  to  suggest  curriculums.  Each  sub-committee  recommended 
what  it  regarded  feasible  and  practicable  courses  of  study 
in  its  respective  subjects,  and  these  courses  are  stated  in  so 
many  national  units  as  "  norms."  A  "  norm  "  is  a  year  course 
in  some  accepted  secondary-school  subject — a  sort  of  unit  of 
measure  of  both  quantity  and  quality.  The  committee  believes 
that  absolute  uniformity  in  secondary-school  programs  or 
curriculums  is  both  impossible  and  undesirable.  What  they  do 
attempt  is  to  "  set  forth  a  series  of  interchangeable  units  of 
substantially  the  same  value  as  will  meet  with  acceptance  every- 
where. Local  conditions  and  traditions  may  give  rise  to  dif- 
fering groups  of  college  entrance  requirements,  but  within 
those  groups  the  several  units  should  have  the  same  value."  x* 
For  instance,  a  boy  who  has  done  a  year's  work  in  history  of 
sufficient  quantity  and  quality  in  one  school  should  receive 
credit  for  a  year's  work  in  another  school.  In  other  words,  the 
"  norms "  are  a  kind  of  national  educational  currency,  or 
negotiable  notes,  that  will  pass  in  any  school  which  maintains 
courses  approximately  equivalent  in  quantity  and  content  to 
those  suggested  by  the  various  sub-committees. 

So  far  as  admission  requirements  are  concerned,  it  is  not  the 
desire  of  the  committee  "  that  all  colleges  should  make  the  same 
entrance  requirements,  nor  is  it  to  be  expected  that  all  schools 
will  have  the  same  program  of  studies.  What  is  to  be  desired, 
and  what  the  committee  hopes  may  become  true,  is  that  the 
colleges  will  state  their  entrance  requirements  in  terms  of 
national  units,  or  norms,  and  that  the  schools  will  build  up  their 
program  of  studies  out  of  the  units  furnished  by  these  separate 
courses  of  study."  20  And  this  is  precisely  where  the  work  of 
this  committee  is  an  advance  over  that  of  the  Committee  of 

19.  Proceedings  of  National  Educational  Association,  1899,  648. 

20.  Proceedings  of  National  Educational  Association,  1899,  672. 


I4o  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [306 

Ten.  The  latter  attempted  to  frame  programs,  the  former  has 
simply  suggested  what  might  reasonably  go  into  a  program, 
and  has  supplied  a  unit  of  measure.  Of  course  there  is  nothing 
new  in  the  idea  that  admission  to  college  should  be  determined 
by  so  many  units,  or  that  a  unit  should  stand  for  a  subject 
pursued  four  or  five  periods  a  week  for  a  school  year.  The 
distinct  contribution  of  the  report  of  the  committee  is  the  sug- 
gestion that  the  units  should  be  of  a  definite  and  national  value, 
that  they  form  the  material  from  which  all  secondary-school 
programs  may  be  composed,  and  that  they  be  accepted  at  par 
^  by  all  schools  and  colleges.  Such  an  arrangement  would  pro- 
ide  for  greater  flexibility  in  school  programs  and  in  admission 
requirements,  and  would  secure  greater  simplicity  all  around. 
At  the  same  time  it  would  meet  all  legitimate  claims  of  varia- 
tion resulting  from  differences  in  environment  and  in  tradition. 
For  instance,  it  is  possible  that  a  small  college,  which  does 
thorough  work,  but  to  a  less  extent  than  a  larger  one,  finds  it 
necessary  to  maintain  a  lower  standard  of  admission  require- 
ments. The  small  college,  then,  can  accept  twelve  instead  of 
fifteen  units,  perhaps,  and  in  that  way  it  can  be  of  real  service 
to  the  rural  high  school,  which  can  do  only  twelve  units  of 
good  college-preparatory  work.  To  sum  up,  the  plan  of  the 
Committee  on  College  Entrance  Requirements  furnishes  a 
feasible  means  of  securing  elasticity,  and  at  the  same  time 
uniformity,  in  secondary  schools;  and  it  also  provides  for 
natural  articulation  between  schools  and  colleges. 

The  report  of  the  Committee  on  College  Entrance  Require- 
ments has  pointed  out  the  conditions  under  which  uniformity  in 
admission  requirements  is  possible.  Now,  how  is  uniformity 
to  be  put  into  general  practice?  Colleges  may  agree  even  on 
paper  upon  a  uniform  requisition  in  certain  subjects,  but  ex- 
perience has  taught  that  this  is  absolutely  no  guarantee  of  its 
common  enforcement.  For  instance,  the  New  England  colleges 
for  the  past  decade  have  agreed  upon  a  uniform  statement  of 
entrance  requirements  in  English,  but  anybody  who  has  had 
the  experience  of  preparing  boys  for  college  during  that  period 
is  well  aware  that  it  is  not  enough  to  know  that  a  certain  boy 


307]  ATTEMPTS   TO  PROMOTE   UNIFORMITY  141 

is   going   to   take    an    examination   in  the    so-called    uniform 
English  requirements ;  he  must  also  know  right  early  what 
college  is  to  administer  the  examination.    A  uniform  regulation    , 
is  one  thing;  but  its  interpretation  and  application  is  another. 
As   Dr.    Butler   says :      "  To   establish   uniform   requirements 
without  uniform  administration  would  leave  the  problem  un-   i 
solved."21      The   recent   formation   of   the   College   Entrance 
Examination  Board  of  the  Middle  States  and  Maryland  bids    \ 
fair  to  solve  the  problem. 

The  idea  of  a  common  examining  board  is  not  a  new  one. 
It  was  suggested  by  President  Eliot  nearly  twenty  years  ago 
and  has  been  reiterated  by  him  and  others  since.22  A  resolu- 
tion providing  for  the  establishment  of  such  a  board  was  in- 
troduced by  Professor  Butler  at  a  meeting  of  the  Faculty  of 
Columbia  College  on  December  22,  1893,  and  was  passed  by  a 
unanimous  vote  in  1896.  Little  was  accomplished,  except  cor- 
respondence, until  1899,  when  at  a  meeting  of  the  Association 
of  Colleges  and  Preparatory  Schools  of  the  Middle  States  and 
Maryland,  on  December  i,  Dr.  Butler  introduced  a  set  of 
resolutions  providing  for  the  establishment  of  a  "  Joint  College 
Admission  Examination  Board  "  for  the  territory  represented 
by  the  colleges  in  the  association.  On  December  2  the  follow- 
ing resolutions  were  adopted  unanimously : 

"  Resolved,  That  this  association  urges  the  early  establish- 
ment of  a  joint  college  admission  examination  board,  com- 
posed of  representatives  of  colleges  and  of  secondary  schools 
in  the  Middle  States  and  Maryland,  which  shall : 

"  (i)  Endeavor  to  bring  about  as  rapidly  as  possible  an 
agreement  upon  a  uniform  statement  as  to  each  subject  re- 
quired by  two  or  more  colleges  in  turn. 

"  (2)  Hold,  or  cause  to  be  held,  at  convenient  points,  in  June 
of  each  year,  a  series  of  college  admission  examinations,  with 
uniform  tests  in  each  subject,  and  issue  certificates  based  on  the 
results  of  such  examinations. 

21.  Educational  Review,  xix,  71. 

22.  At  a  meeting  of  the  New  England  Association  of  Colleges  and 
Preparatory  Schools;  Proceedings,  1885,  16. 


142  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [308 

"  Resolved,  That  in  case  such  board  be  established  before  the 
next  meeting  of  this  association,  the  executive  committee  be 
empowered  to  designate  the  representatives  of  secondary 
schools  to  serve  upon  such  board  until  December  I,  1900. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  several  colleges  in  the  Middle  States 
and  Maryland  be  requested  by  this  association  to  accept  the 
certificates  issued  by  such  joint  college  admission  examination 
board,  so  far  as  they  go,  in  lieu  of  their  own  separate  admission 
examinations."  23 

The  first  work  of  the  board  was  to  agree  upon  definitions  of 
the  following  entrance  subjects :  English,  history,  Latin,  Greek, 
French,  German,  mathematics,  physics,  and  chemistry ;  and  this 
year  Spanish,  geography,  and  drawing  have  been  added.  The 
definitions  accepted  were  those  suggested  by  the  various  com- 
/  mittees  of  the  National  Educational  Association,  except  in  the 
cases  of  English  and  drawing.  In  this  way  the  work  of  the 
examination  board  will  be  a  direct  application  of  the  sugges- 
tions of  the  Committee  on  College  Entrance  Requirements. 
In  connection,  therefore,  with  the  work  of  the  Committee  of 
Ten  and  the  Committee  of  Twelve,  it  is  the  crowning  effort 
towards  uniformity  in  college  entrance  requirements  and 
towards  a  closer  articulation  between  colleges  and  secondary 
schools. 

Let  us  examine  the  points  involved  in  the  work  of  the  College 
Entrance  Examination  Board.  First,  a  few  details  of  admin- 
istration. For  each  subject  there  is  a  committee  of  three 
examiners ;  the  chief  examiner  and  one  other  are  college 
teachers-,  the  third  a  secondary-school  teacher.  After  the 
papers  are  made  out  they  are  submitted  to  a  committee  of 
revision,  consisting  of  the  chief  examiners  and  the  five  sec- 
ondary-school representatives  on  the  board.  They  are  then 
sent  by  the  secretary  to  numerous  points  where  the  examina- 
tions are  to  be  held.  This  year  examinations  may  be  held  in 
nearly  all  principal  cities  in  the  United  States,  as  well  as  in 

23.  Association  of  Colleges  and  Preparatory  Schools  of  the  Middle 
States  and  Maryland;  Proceedings,  1899,  138. 


309]  ATTEMPTS   TO  PROMOTE  UNIFORMITY  143. 

foreign  countries.24  After  the  examinations  the  books  are 
distributed  by  the  secretary  to  the  readers,  who  are  also  selected 
from  both  colleges  and  secondary  schools.  Certificates  are 
sent  to  candidates  who  pass.  No  book  is  finally  marked  below 
sixty  until  it  has  been  examined  by  two  readers.  All  books 
marked  below  sixty  are  held  for  two  years,  but,  on  the  request 
of  the  candidate,  are  sent  to  the  authorities  of  any  college  which 
the  candidate  wishes  to  enter.  The  details  of  administra- 
tion show  how  carefully  wrought  out  the  whole  scheme  is,  and 
how  absolutely  fair  all  conclusions  ought  to  be.  Two  advan- 
tages are  plain  to  see.  The  work  of  the  board  relieves  college 
professors  from  the  humdrum  task  of  framing  and  correcting 
examination  papers.  It  also  avoids  much  of  the  dispute 
between  high-school  teachers  and  college  officials  as  to  whether 
this  or  that  boy  was  rejected  fairly. 

A  good  many  small  objections  have  been  urged  against  the 
project.  One  is  that  it  gives  hard  and  fast  mechanical  results, 
and  does  not  afford  the  opportunity  for  reasonable  and  just 
discretion,  as  does  the  method  of  examination  by  individual 
colleges.  The  only  call  for  discretion  is  where  a  particular 
candidate  fails  to  pass.  In  that  case  the  college  which  that 
candidate  intends  to  enter  has  the  privilege  of  re-examining 
his  paper  and  of  using  whatever  leniency  it  wishes.  Another 
objection  is  that  an  unfair  advantage  is  given  to  those  sec- 
ondary schools  from  which  examiners  and  readers  are  selected. 
This  cynical  criticism  involves  both  the  honor  of  reputable 
men  and  the  judgment  of  the  board,  and  deserves  no  refutation. 
Objections  have  also  been  raised  to  the  character  of  the  ex-  ' 
animation  questions,  particularly  in  two  subjects,  and  to  some 
of  the  ratings.  These,  however,  are  simply  matters  of  ad- 
ministrative detail,  involve  no  principle,  and  can  be  easily 
remedied.  The  examinations  have  been  regarded,  for  the  most 
part,  thorough,  searching  and  fair;  and  the  general  verdict  is 
one  of  approval. 

24.  In  June,  1902,  examinations  were  held  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Board  in  130  places,  and  1362  candidates  were  examined.  This  is  an 
increase  of  about  forty  per  cent,  over  the  previous  year. 


144  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [310 

This  paper  is  more  concerned  with  the  general  principles  of 
the  plan  than  with  administrative  details.  During  the  dis- 
cussion which  resulted  in  the  establishment  of  the  examina- 
tion board  President  Eliot  declared  that  such  a  movement 
would  make  "  an  immense  contribution  to  American  educa- 
tion." That  contribution  has  been  made  by  the  successful 
formation  of  the  College  Entrance  Examination  Board,  and  it 
consists  in  the  fact  that  a  means  has  been  provided  for  enforc- 
ing to  a  large  extent  uniformity  in  college  admission  require- 
ment. The  distinct  advantages  which  can  confidently  be 
expected  from  the  successful  operation  of  such  a  scheme  are 
these : 

I.  Fairer  tests  and  a  fairer  judgment  of  results  will  be  given 
than  hitherto.     The  papers  are  made  out  and  corrected  by  a 
well-organized  body  of  able  educators,  carefully  chosen  because 
of   their    ability    and    experience    in    those    matters.      Again, 
exclusive   interests   of   neither   colleges  nor  secondary  schools 
prevail,  because  the  board  is  so  constituted  that  the  demands  of 
both  institutions  are  recognized. 

II.  Individuality,   as   well   as   uniformity,   is   provided   for. 
Any  school  can  choose  what  subjects  it  is  best  equipped  to 
teach,  and  any  college  is  left  free  to  say  what  subjects  it  will 
absolutely  require. 

III.  The  fact  that  the  board  is  composed  of  both  college  and 
school  men  means  actual   rather  than  theoretical   co-operation ; 
and,  therefore,  one  of  the  strongest  arguments  in  support  of  the 
"  accrediting  system  "  applies  with  equal  force  to  the  uniform 
examination  system.     Also,  the  continual  exchange  of  opinions 
among  the  college  teachers  enlisted  will  doubtless  do  much 
towards  promoting  uniformity  in  the  entrance  conditions  of  the 
colleges  represented. 

IV.  An  agreement,  at  least  among  the  colleges  which  accept 
the  certificates  of  the  board,  upon  a  uniform  statement  of  the 
definition  of  the  several  admission  subjects  is  assured. 

Moreover,  V.,  the  establishment  of  this  examination  board 
has  finally  supplied  a  means  of  enforcing  uniform  definitions. 
The  establishment  and  successful  operation  of  the  College 


3u]  ATTEMPTS  TO  PROMOTE  UNIFORMITY  145 

Entrance  Examination  Board  has  been  made  possible  by  a  long 
series  of  propitious  circumstances.  For  the  past  fifty  years  a 
tendency  toward  uniformity  in  entrance  requirements,  at  least 
in  the  long-established  subjects,  has  been  slowly  developing, 
regardless  of  the  work  of  the  various  school  and  college  or-| 
ganizations.  The  efforts  of  the  New  England  Association,  or 
the  Committee  of  Ten,  of  the  Committee  of  Twelve,  and  of  the 
Columbia  Conference  of  1896  have  not  only  accomplished 
some  important  results,  but  have  continually  agitated  the 
problem  of  college  admission  requirements,  and  have  cleared 
away  the  underbrush,  so  to  speak,  for  the  present  movement. 
Six  years  ago  President  Eliot  said  that  there  were  three  im- 
portant needs  regarding  college  admission  requirements. 
These  were :  "  First,  that  we  may  expect  a  large  addition  to  the 
old-fashioned  requirements  for  admission;  next,  that  we  need 
a  mode  of  attaching  to  the  new  subjects  severally,  as  to  the  olcty, 
a  just  valuation  for  admission  purposes,  and,  thirdly,  that  we 
shall  need  some  method  capable  of  securing  tolerably  uniform 
enforcement  of  the  new  and  old  requirements."  25  These  three 
needs  have  all  been  fulfilled.  The  development  of  the  elective 
system  in  both  colleges  and  secondary  schools,  as  well  as  the 
influence  of  the  reports  of  the  Committee  of  Ten  and  of  the 
Committee  of  Twelve,  has  supplied  the  first  need.  The 
individual  effort  of  a  few  leading  colleges  and  the  work  of  the 
Committee  of  Twelve  have  met  the  second.  The  establish- 
ment of  the  College  Entrance  Examination  Board  of  the  Middle 
States  and  Maryland  is  fulfilling  the  third.  The  influence  of 
the  examination  board  promises  to  become  national.26  We 
have  learned  from  the  secretary  that  its  certificates  are  already 
honored  by  nearly  every  college  in  the  United  States.  Harvard 
University  is  a  remarkable  exception,  the  more  remarkable 

25.  Educational  Reform,  389. 

26.  Since  this  was  written  a  resolution  has  been  passed  by  the  Examina- 
tion Board  inviting  New  England  colleges  to  join,  with  the  promise  that, 
if  the  invitation  is  accepted,  the  name  will  be  changed  by  dropping  the 
words,  "  of  the  Middle   States  and  Maryland."     Educational  Review, 
October,  1902. 


146  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [312 

because  the  idea  of  such  a  project  apparently  originated  with 
President  Eliot.  One  reason  President  Eliot  has  to  offer  is 
that  they  are  waiting  to  see  how  the  scheme  works.  They  are 
evidently  satisfied  with  the  results,  but  instead  of  co-operating 
and  lending  their  valuable  influence  to  the  project  already  on 
foot,  members  of  the  New  England  Association  are  planning  a 
similar  board,  which  is  intended  to  improve  on  that  of  the 
Middle  States  in  respect  to  a  few  non-essential  details  of 
administration. 


313]  CONCLUSION  147 


CONCLUSION 

IN  the  introduction  to  the  second  part  of  this  dissertation 
it  was  shown  that  the  important  problem  involved  in  college 
admission  requirements  was  that  of  a  closer  articulation  between 
the  high  school  and  the  college.  There  have  been,  as  we  have 
seen,  several  distinct  attempts  to  secure  such  articulation. 
Colleges  have  widened  the  range  of  entrance  subjects,  and  have 
made  their  terms  of  admission  more  liberal.  Many  institutions 
have  sought  to  bridge  the  gap  between  the  college  and  the 
school  by  admitting  students  on  the  diploma  of  the  latter. 
Through  the  efforts  of  school  and  college  associations  uni- 
formity in  admission  requirements  has  made  good  progress. 
Much  has  been  done,  as  much,  perhaps,  as  could  well  be 
expected  from  mere  mechanical  attempts  to  fuse  two  phases 
of  our  educational  system  when  the  representatives  of  each 
phase  have  looked  upon  the  problem  of  education  from  at 
entirely  different  point  of  view.  The  current  expression, 
4i  preparation  for  college  and  preparation  for  life,"  gives  us 
the  key  to  the  situation.  The  constant  employment  of  that 
happy  phrase  indicates  clearly,  it  seems  to  me,  that  there  is  still 
doubt  in  the  minds  of  many  educators  that  preparation  for 
college  can  at  the  same  time  be  preparation  for  life,  doubt  that  a 
college  career  is,  or  should  be,  life  in  its  richest  and  fullest 
sense.  The  expression  implies  that  a  boy  preparing  for 
college  is  pursuing  a  radically  different  course  from  that  of  the 
"boy  who  is  to  enter  the  ranks  of  citizens  a  few  years  earlier. 
The  assumption  is  that  the  one  is  preparing  for  a  life  of  cul- 
tured 'ease,  the  other  for  a  career  of  practical  usefulness. 

That  there  has  so  long  been  a  distinction  between  prepara- 
tion for  college  and  preparation  for  life  is  due  to  the  erroneous 
idea  that  certain  studies  are  valuable  merely  for  culture  and 
others  are  valuable  for  their  practical  usefulness,  and  that  the 


i48  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [3I4 

former  afford  a  certain  discipline  which  the  latter  fail  to  give. 
It  is  clear  that  too  narrow  an  interpretation  has  been  put  upon 
the  idea  of  culture.  Culture  is  development  of  the  individual. 
What  assists  the  development  of  one,  however,  may  arrest  the 
development  of  another.  One  person  may  get  the  richest 
sort  of  culture  out  of  manual  training,  while  another  finds  the 
classics  best  adapted  to  his  peculiar  needs.  The  weakness  of  the 
humanistic  curriculum  of  the  early  college  was  that  culture  was 
synonymous  with  a  knowledge  of  Latin  and  Greek.  Students 
who  seemed  not  to  profit  well  by  such  discipline  were  con- 
sidered hopeless  cases,  and  were  early  relegated  to  the  class  of 
artisans.  When  one  of  the  latter  happened  to  succeed  well,  in 
spite  of  intellectual  ostracism,  he  was  apologetically  referred  to 
as  a  "  self-made  man."  Those  who  finally  attained  to  the  cul- 
tured class,  so-called,  were  the  product  of  a  very  severe  selection,, 
not  a  natural  selection,  but  an  artificial  one.  It  was  this  sort 
of  narrow  thinking,  and  of  acting  in  accordance  thereto,  that 
has  made  the  American  college  such  an  exclusive  and  un- 
democratic institution,  and  one  so  difficult  of  access  except  to  the 
favored  few.  As  long  as  this  conception  prevails  we  shall 
doubtless  continue  to  maintain  a  different  'course  of  study  for 
the  youth  who  is  to  go  to  college  and  for  the  youth  whose 
schooling  is  to  end  with  the  high  school.  For  the  former  we 
shall  still  prescribe  a  curriculum  for  so-called  discipline,  or 
culture,  and  for  the  latter  we  shall  still  patch  together  the 
remnants  into  an  incoherent  curriculum  intended  to  afford  him 
just  enough  information  to  get  along  well  in  life. 

There  are  symptoms  of  a  change,  however.  Educational 
principles  and  practices  are  undergoing  a  revolution.  Manual,-- 
industrial  subjects,  and  others,  once  scorned  because  useful, 
are  gradually  gaining  a  footing  in  our  schools,  and  are  winning 
the  respect  they  merit.  The  fact  that  they  suggest  the  work- 
a-day  world  and  the  soiled  hand  of  toil  is  by  no  means  to  their 
discredit;  and  the  growing  conviction  that  the  study  which 
affords  the  most  information  and  skill  can  yet  give  the  best 
culture  and  discipline  is  establishing  these  subjects  the  more 
firmly.  A  change  of  attitude  is  apparent.  As  Mr.  Dewey 


.315]  CONCLUSION  I49 

says,  we  are  beginning  "  to  study  the  typical  necessities  of  social 
life,  and  the  actual  nature  of  the  individual  in  his  specific  needs 
and  capacities."  We  are  coming  to  act  on  the  principle  that 
the  aim  of  education  throughout  its  entire  range  is  to  adapt 
the  individual  for  life  in  its  fullest  and  most  comprehensive 
sense,  and  that  all  studies  which  fulfill  this  purpose  adequately 
are  of  equal  value  and  dignity.  When  the  aim  of  both  the  high 
school  and  the  college  conform  to  this  principle,  when  both 
classes  of  institutions  carve  out  their  curriculums  to  this  line, 
then  there  will  be  harmony  of  purpose,  then  the  sequence  in  our 
educational  system  will  be  unbroken  from  the  kindergarten  to 
the  university,  then  the  joints  between  the  several  phases  of  the 
school  system  will  be  closer  and  less  obtrusive,  and  articulation 
between  the  secondary  school  and  the  college,  so  far  as  the 
curriculum  is  concerned,  will  cease  to  be  an  important  issue. 

Three  conditions  are  necessary  to  secure  an  ideal  connection  <" 
between  the  high  school  and  the  college.  These  are :  ( I )  A  fair 
degree  of  flexibility  in  high  school  curriculums  and  in  the  re- 
quirements  for  admission  to  college,  (2)  a  reasonable  degree  of 
uniformity  in  the  standard  of  our  high  schools  and  in  the  re-  ' 
quirements  of  the  colleges,  and  (3)  adequate  and  fair  tests  of  a 
student's  intellectual,  moral,  and  physical  fitness  to  begin  the 
college  course.  Already  the  tendency  towards  flexibility  has  be-, 
come  pretty  general ;  in  fact,  there  is  danger  that  the  movement 
may  go  too  far,  particularly  in  relation  to  the  curriculum  of  the 
high  school.  In  the  direction  of  uniformity  much  progress  has 
been  made  during  the  last  five  years.  Unfortunately  the 
movement  towards  uniformity  in  the  standard  of  high  schools 
has  been  local  or  sectional,  while  that  towards  uniformity  in 
college  entrance  requirements  tends  to  become  national.  The 
important  issue  to-day  is  the  method  of  testing  a  candidate's 
ripeness  for  admission  to  college. 

The  leading  colleges  recognize  that  almost  any  study  which 
is  worthy  of  a  place  in  the  high-school  course  is  acceptable 
for  admission  to  college.  There  is  great  diversity  of  opinion 
and  practice,  however,  as  to  the  method  of  testing.  Some 
colleges  still  insist  upon  administering  the  entrance  examination 


150  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [3I6 

themselves.  Others  intrust  the  whole  matter  to  a  board  of 
examiners,  like  that  of  the  Middle  States  and  Maryland. 
Some  colleges  admit  on  certificate,  some  on  diplomas;  some 
admit  students  on  probation,  upon  the  recommendation  of  the 
high  school  principal;  while  several  are  contemplating  the 
formation  of  a  general  certificating  board.  Without  further 
discussing  these  various  practices,  we  may  say  that  educators 
are  nearly  equally  divided  in  favor  of  the  examination  system, 
on  the  one  hand,  and  of  the  diploma  or  certificate  system,  on 
the  other.  The  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  the  diploma 
system  have  been  discussed  in  chapter  IV.  I  want  to  say  a 
few  words,  in  closing,  in  favor  of  examinations. 

There  is  a  growing  tendency  of  late  which  may  operate 
seriously  in  lowering  everywhere  the  standard  of  work  through- 
out our  schools.  Reference  is  here  made  to  the  deplorable 
desire  of  students  to  evade  all  thorough  tests  of  accurate  scholar- 
ship and  of  acquired  mental  power.  The  practice,  generally 
prevalent,  of  advancing  pupils  from  grade  to  grade  in  the 
elementary  schools,  from  the  grammar  school  into  the  high 
school,  and  from  the  high  school  into  college  without  examina- 
tion is  fostering  that  desire.  In  the  schools  of  which  the  writer 
has  charge  the  mere  mention  of  the  word  examination  produces 
among  the  pupils  a  thrill  of  terror.  Whenever  we  wish  to 
give  a  more  formidable  examination  than  a  written  lesson  we 
must  resort  to  some  such  evasive  expressions  as  "  long  test," 
or  "  written  exercise."  Pupils  feel  it  to  be  an  imposition  if 
they  are  required  to  reproduce  any  knowledge  which  they  ac- 
quired over  a  month  ago.  And  we  are  not  alone  in  this,  I  sus- 
pect. It  is  doubtless  true  that  by  excusing  a  pupil  from  an 
examination  we  not  only  encourage  superficiality,  but  we  do 
him  the  positive  harm  of  depriving  him  of  a  valuable  review 
and  of  an  equally  valuable  intellectual  exercise.  Now,  if  my 
argument  regarding  examinations  in  the  lower  schools  has  any 
soundness  in  it,  it  has  still  more  weight  in  connection  with  the 
college  and  the  method  of  admission  thereto.  Moreover,  ad- 
mission to  college  is  a  most  important  crisis  in  a  young  man's 
career.  Of  course  there  are  some  important  exceptions  (for 


CONCLUSION  15  x 

instance,  those  who  intend  to  become  professional  base-ball  or 
foot-ball  players),  but,  as  a  rule,  entrance  to  college  is  the  issue 
which  decides  for  a  young  man  whether  he  shall  follow  a  pro- 
fessional or,  better,  an  intellectual,  career,  or  one  where  in- 
tellectual training  is  a  less  important  consideration.  There 
are  already  too  many  fellows  in  our  colleges  who  have  got  in 
easily  and  are  there  for  no  serious  purpose.  There  are  alto- 
gether too  many  people  in  the  learned  professions  who  have 
been  permitted  to  mistake  their  callings,  and  who  would  be  / 
both  happier  and  of  more  service  to  society  if  they  were  con- 
tent to  be  efficient  Artisans  or  tradesmen.  By  no  means  offer 
any  obstruction  to /those  young  men  who,  though  penniless, 
have  the  stuff  in  them  to  profit  by  a  college  education.  The 
more  important  consideration  is  to  exclude  all  who  have  no 
serious  purpose  in  going  to  college;  and  I  believe  that  a  thor- 
ough examination,  administered  judiciously,  is  at  present  the 
most  effective  means  of  maintaining  the  proper  educational 
standards. 

The  important  question  remaining  is :  Who  shall  administer 
the  examinations  for  entrance  to  college?  The  examination 
can  be  given  by  three  authorities :  ( I )  The  individual  colleges, 
(2)  the  various  high  and  preparatory  schools,  (3)  a  general  ex- 
amining board,  composed  of  representatives  from  both  colleges 
and  preparatory  schools.  If  the  examination  is  administered 
by  the  different  colleges,  the  examinees  will  continue  to  suffer 
from  lack  of  uniformity  and  the  annoying  idiosyncrasies  of  the 
various  college  examiners.1  If  preparatory  school  teachers 
give  the  examination,  three  dangers  may  result.  First,  there 
will  be  a  tendency  to  lower  the  standards,  resulting  from  the 
eagerness  of  high-school  principals  to  make  a  good  showing; 
secondly,  the  personal  bias  of  the  principal  and  the  influence  of 
parents  may  become  important  factors  in  determining  the 
result;  thirdly,  the  movement  towards  raising  secondary 
schools  to  a  uniform  standard  will  be  seriously  hindered.2  It 

1.  This  matter  is  fully  discussed  in  the  first  few  pages  of  Chapter  V. 

2.  Examination   for  admission  to  college  by  the  preparatory- school 
authorities   is   practically   what   admission   by  certificate   involves;   and 
these  arguments  apply  with  equal  force  against  the  certificating  system. 


152  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [3ls 

has  been  said,  without  further  explanation,  that  college 
entrance  examinations,  administered  by  a  general  examining 
board,  secure  "  mechanical  results."  Now,  if  "  mechanical," 
thus  used,  means  accurate,  fair,  safe,  reliable,  and  performed 
with  facility  and  dispatch,  I  heartily  agree.  Enough  was  said 
In  chapter  V.  in  regard  to  the  advantages  of  this  method  of 
admission  to  college.  It  avoids  the  defects  of  other  methods, 
and  secures  the  positive  advantages  of  a  uniform  standard  and 
of  fair  and  reliable  results. 

In  conclusion  let  me  say  that,  in  view  of  the  historical  de- 
velopment of  entrance  requirements  and  the  present  status 
thereof,  three  provisions,  or  principles,  seem  best  calculated  to 
secure  the  satisfactory  administration  of  college  admission  re- 
quirements. These  are  the  following : 

1.  A  good  degree  of  flexibility,  so  arranged  as  to  compel 
the  student  to  make  a  judicious  selection  of  subjects. 

2.  Reasonable  uniformity  in  both  secondary-school  standards 
and  in  entrance  terms. 

3.  Admission    to    college    by    examinations,    these    to    be 
thorough,  fair,  uniform,  and  judiciously  administered  by  a 
board  of  national  recognition. 


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Statutes.    In  manuscript:  1642,  1655,  1686,  1731,  1734,  1743,  I77& 

Printed  in  pamphlet  form:  1790,  1798,  1807,  1814,  1816,  1820,  1825. 
All  these  can  be  found  in  the  archives  of  the  Harvard  University- 
Library. 
Harvard  University. 

Catalogues,  1825  to  1902. 
Harvard  University. 

Annual  Reports  of  President,  1870  to  1901. 
Heywood,  James,  and  Wright,  Thomas,  Compilers. 

The  Ancient  Laws  for  King's  College,  Cambridge.    London,  1850. 
Holmes,  Abiel. 

The  Life  of  Ezra  Stiles.    1798. 
Kingsley,  W.  L. 

Yale  College,  a  Sketch  of  Its  History;  4  vols.     New  York,  1879. 
King's  College,  later  Columbia  College. 

Statutes  for  years  1755,  1763,  1785,  1810,  1811,  1816,  1821,  1827,  1836, 

1843.     In  the  custody  of  John  B.  Pine,  New  York. 
Long  Island  Historical  Society. 

Memoirs;  2  vols.     New  York,  1867-1878. 
Massachusetts  Historical  Society. 

Proceedings.    Volume  cited  V..  XIV. 
Mather,  Cotton. 

Magnalia  Christi  Americana.     London,  1702. 


32i]  BIBLIOGRAPHY  I55 

McLean,  John. 

The  College  of  New  Jersey;  2  vols.     Philadelphia,  1877. 
Moore,  N.  F. 

An  Historical  Sketch  of  Columbia  College.     New  York,  1846. 
Mullinger,  James  B. 

The  University  of  Cambridge.     Cambridge,  Eng.,  1884. 

Cambridge  Characteristics  in  the  Seventeenth  Century.     1867. 
New  England's  First  Fruits. 

A  letter  sent  to  England  regarding  the  conditions  in  the  Colony. 

London,  1643.    Published  with  Old  South  Leaflets  as  No.  51. 
Newman,  Francis  W.     Editor. 

Huber's  English  Universities;  2  vols.     London,  1843. 
Peirce,  Benjamin. 

History  of  Harvard  University.     Cambridge,  1833. 
Princeton  Book. 

Several  authors.     Boston,  1879. 
Princeton  College. 

Statutes  for  years  1748,  1794,  1813,  1819,  1832,  1839,  1846,  1851. 
Princeton  University. 

Catalogues,  1850  to  1902. 
Quincy,  Josiah. 

History  of  Harvard  University;  2  vols.    Boston,  1860. 
Richardson,  C.  F.,  and  Clark,  H.  A.     Editors. 

The  College  Book.     Boston,  1878. 
Schwab,  John  B. 

The  Yale  College  Curriculum.    Educational  Review,  June,  1901. 
Schools  as  they  were  sixty  years  ago.     American  Journal  of  Educa- 
tion; vols.,  XIII.  to  XXX.    A  series  of  letters  containing  personal 
reminiscences  of  school  life  by  eminent  men. 
Sherwood,  Sidney. 

The  University  of  the  State  of  New  York.    United  States  Bureau 
of  Education,  Circular  of  Information  No.  3,  1900.     Washington, 
1900. 
Shurtleff,  N.  B.    Editor. 

Records  of  the  Governor  and  Company  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  in 

New  England.     Boston,  1853. 
Sibley,  John  L. 

Harvard  Graduates;  2  vols.     Cambridge,  1873. 
Thayer,  William  R. 

A  Historical  Sketch  of  Harvard  University.     Cambridge,  1890.     Re- 
printed from  the  History  of  Middlesex  County,  Mass. 
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Nation,  June  22,  1893 ;  July  27,  1893. 


156  COLLEGE  ADMISSION  REQUIREMENTS  [322 

Winterbotham,  William. 

American  Schools  and  Education.     1796. 
Barnard's  American  Journal  of  Education;  XXIV,  241. 
Woolsey,  Theodore,  D. 

A  Historical  Discourse,  pronounced  before  the  graduates  of  the  Yale 

College,  August,  14,  1850.     New  Haven,  1850. 
Yale  College. 

Statutes  for  years  1720,  1726,  1745,  1748,  1755,  1759,  1764,  1774,  1795, 
1800,  1808,  1811,  1817,  1822,  1825,  1829,  1832,  1835,  1837,  1843.     In 
the  archives  of  Yale  Library. 
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II. 
FOR   THE   CRITICAL   DISCUSSION. 

Allen,  Nathan. 

The    Old   Academies.— The    New    Englander    and    Yale    Review, 

XLIV.,  104. 
Association  of  Colleges  and  Preparatory  Schools  of  the  Middle  States 

and  Maryland. — Proceedings,  1888  to  1901. 
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Improvement  in  Colleges. — American  Journal  of  Education,  XXII, 

435.     The  condition  of  the  elective  system  in  1870  presented. 
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The    Reform    of   Secondary    Education    in    the    United    States. — 
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1448. 
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subject  of  admission  requirements.     New  York,  1900. 
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and  VII.,  36,  103,  286. 
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land. 

Documents  i  to  8,  and  Report  of  Secretary  for  1901. 
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United  States  Commissioner  of  Education,  1892-93,  1415. 


323]  BIBLIOGRAPHY  ,57 

Committee  on  College  Entrance  Requirements  of  the  National  Educa- 
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Preliminary  Report. — School  Review  IV.,  341. 

Final  Report. — Proceedings  of  the  National  Educational  Associa- 
tion, 1899. 

Educational    Review.     1891     to     1902.     Contains    numerous    valuable 
articles  and  editorials  on  secondary  and  higher  education  and  on 
college  entrance  requirements. 
Eliot,  C.  W. 

Educational  Reform.     Contains  several  addresses  touching  on  the 

subject  of  college  admission  requirements.     New  York,  1898. 
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The  Education  of  the  American  Citizen.     Contains  several  articles 

touching  on  the  subject.     New  York,  1901. 
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Proceedings,  including  numerous  addresses  and  discussions  on  the 

subject  from  1876  to  1901. 
New  England  Association  of  Colleges  and  Preparatory  Schools. 

Proceedings,  1885  to  1901. 
North  Central  Association  of  Colleges  and  Secondary  Schools. 

Proceedings,  1895  to  1899. 
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VIII.,  103. 
Report  of  the  Committee  on  College  Entrance  Requirements. 

Criticisms  and  discussions. — School  Review,  VII.,  388. 
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Contains    admission    requirements'   to   475    colleges    and    scientific 

schools  tabulated,  with  preliminary  remarks. 
Report  of  the  United  States  Commissioner  of  Education,  1899-1900. 

Contains  statistics  of  secondary  schools  tabulated,  with  preliminary 

remarks. 
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Contains  numerous  articles  on  secondary  education  and  on  admission 

requirements. 
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Flexibility  in  the  Curriculum.     1901.     Essay  not  yet  published. 
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The  Social  Mind  and  Education.    New   York,    1897.    Especially 

Chapters  IV.,  V.,  and  VI. 
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.  .Dynamic  Sociology;  2  vols.    New  York,  1883.    Especially  Chapter 
XIV.,  on  Education,  gives  exceptionally  good  point  of  view. 


o  • 

UNIV-:,-;-3lTY 


LIFE  OF  THE  AUTHOR 

BORN  at  Central  Falls,  R.  L,  1874;  graduated  from  the  Cen- 
tral Falls  High  School,  1893 ;  Brown  University,  Ph.  B., 
1897,  A.  M.,  1898;  teacher  of  English  and  history  in  the  high 
school  at  Pawtucket,  R.  L,  1897-98;  supervising  principal  at 
Seymour,  Conn.,  1898-1900;  student  in  summer  school,  Co- 
lumbia University,  1900 ;  fellow  in  pedagogy,  Teachers  College, 
Columbia  University,  1900-1901 ;  student  in  Columbia  Uni- 
versity and  teacher  of  Latin  and  German  in  Barnard  School 
for  Boys,  1901-1902 ;  Ph.  D.,  Columbia  University,  and  Doctor's 
Diploma  in  Education  from  Teachers  College,  1902. 


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